Chapter 574
The so-called “Death” was still gripping my shoe as if it were the last lifeline.
This wretched creature looked despicable, yet it could still tug at the faintest threads of guilt in my heart. After all, I’m a dog owner myself. It felt wrong to be pushing away this Yorkie-like entity.
Of course, knowing they were evil gods prevented any hesitation. This wasn’t some regular bad god; they were powerful enough that Enen felt the need to seal them away entirely. Now they look like this, having hit rock bottom, but who knows when they might resurrect if I let my guard down?
‘Can’t leave any loose ends.’
I’m a cold man who got rid of even the bear that carried me around. A little evil god like this? I’m more than ready to deal with it.
Wait, or was it Ungi?
“After living for hundreds of years, isn’t it your home? Just go back.”
“Uggggh—!”
Despite my taunts, “Death” didn’t utter a word.
Pity. If it had even just cracked open its mouth, I would’ve tossed it right back where it came from.
– Seriously pathetic. Don’t gods have any pride?
That made me flinch for a moment. The ugliest god I knew was the eternal blue sky, after all.
– Since you can’t physically eliminate gods…
And with that follow-up, my foot began to sway even more. It was clear that humans couldn’t simply erase gods.
If humans could physically defeat a god, we’d see tales in the Dawn Sect scripture about vanquishing heretical gods or rid evil gods from the sect itself. But the absence of such records suggests that physical destruction of a god is indeed impossible.
If you could really kill a god with a sword slash or spells, would that even make it a god? It’d just be a stronger life form.
‘So, sealing is the only answer, huh?’
– Yep. To lose its godly status, a god must have its faith vanish, but these guys were already dying. If you seal them again, they’ll fall over on their own.
In the end, circling back to sealing is the solution.
What a headache. To get rid of these little evil gods, I can’t just hit them; I need to seal them, which means I have to push these stubborn things back into the pit and then reactivate the seal.
The first two tasks aren’t major issues. Annoying, sure, but if I invest some time, I could shove multiple little critters—a full eleven of them—back into the hole.
– Honestly, I doubt they could get out even if I just put them in the pit, right?
However, I got stuck on the most critical last task. The eternal blue sky, just starting to gather divine energy, seemed unwilling to waste its power on these little evil gods.
‘Aren’t we better off going safe? What if we leave them in the pit and they regain their faith? That could turn into a headache!’
I tried to persuade the eternal blue sky as best as I could. If the gods wouldn’t act, then humans had to. But the mages couldn’t use magic right now. The presence of evil gods, or the seal itself, obstructed the flow of mana, making it impossible for humans to seal them.
– I considered that, but just look at them.
Following the perpetually indifferent direction of the eternal blue sky, I turned my head to see a scene that almost made me chuckle.
“Too cold! It’s freezing…”
“Damn you, Enen… Why did you lock us in this hell?!”
“I don’t want to die a frozen god…”
While I was bickering with “Death,” the larger group of evil gods was trembling in the cold instead of trying to escape.
What a pitiful sight! The little creatures, around the size of baby Titi, huddled together like they were trying to share body heat.
‘Patrasche, huh?’
Just earlier, we worried about freezing to death, but it turns out it was the evil gods who were getting the Patrasche ending.
‘But can gods really freeze to death?’
– That’s never happened. But since they can’t muster the strength to overcome the cold, they’ll suffer in it until their faith vanishes. They probably wish they could just die already.
‘Right, I see.’
The urgency for sealing became even clearer this time. While they may be evil gods, on a humanitarian level, it’s correct to seal them in a warm pit instead of leaving them in this brutal cold, waiting for an endless death. Subjecting them to torment could awaken the righteous side of even a good god.
So, first off, I wanted to ensure those poor little creatures—I mean, no sense in letting the one I’m playing with get suddenly warm and cozy.
– Oh, wait a second.
I halted upon the eternal blue sky’s interruption.
– I have a better idea, so just keep them from moving.
‘Keep them from moving, you say?’
– Yep. If they struggle, it’ll just be more of a hassle.
With that, I resumed my steps.
It must be something really good if it made the eternal blue sky so confident.
One by one, I grabbed the struggling evil gods and buried them underground. At least I left their heads out, so talking wouldn’t be an issue.
“Human. Even if we’ve fallen, we were once revered as gods.”
“Do you want me to bury you or not?”
“Thank you for respectfully burying us in the cozy earth.”
I buried even “Death” under the ground, securing all eleven of them so they couldn’t move.
…
‘Um, about this…’
– Yeah, what is it?
‘Aren’t people gonna see me as a crazy guy burying animals alive?’
I’ve felt a prickling sensation at the back of my head for a while now. It’s probably from the gazes of the mages retreating behind me.
– Don’t worry. Mages are smart. They should know these creatures aren’t regular life forms popping out from here.
‘Fair point.’
My mind settled. I managed to avoid the disastrous rumor that “the Director of the Information Department has a hobby of tormenting weak animals.”
‘So, what’s next?’
– I’m going to absorb their divine power.
‘Excuse me?’
– Absorb their divine power.
I wasn’t indicating that I didn’t hear it, by the way.
– With their tiny bodies, they couldn’t be a threat even if they tried their hardest. What matters is whether they regain their faith and return to their former glory. If I remove their divinity, there’s no way they can cultivate faith. Without a vessel, how could anything be contained?
That metaphor was simple enough to grasp. It was like saying to rip out their center of power.
It truly is a good plan. I don’t have to beat down entities that can’t physically die, nor do I have to struggle against those trying desperately to stay out of the pit. Plus, I don’t have to persuade the perpetually indifferent eternal blue sky anymore.
Yes, it’s not just a good plan; it’s a flawless one. But…
‘Then why seal them first? Why not just absorb them from the get-go?’
This whole sealing thing seemed more bothersome than simply absorbing them.
– They were powerful back then. If I had tried absorbing them incorrectly, Enen’s essence might have become corrupted.
I immediately understood.
– But now they’re weak enough that they’re about to die… hehehe…
Before I knew it, the eternal blue sky started chuckling greedily.
What a disgrace. If the evil gods look gross and miserable, the eternal blue sky is just plain ugly. There was a greedy one among the evil gods, but I guess the real greedy one is here.
– Alright! Just place your hand on their heads! I’ll take care of the rest!
‘Uh, okay.’
Of course, if I had to choose between an ugly god I know and an ugly god I’ve just met, I’d pick the former.
“Human? What are you doing?”
As soon as I placed my hand on its head, “Death” – still struggling to escape – finally said something, sounding displeased.
“Absorbing divine power.”
“What?!”
But before long, it froze in place.
“What the hell! Why is there divine energy inside this human… and not just divine energy, but sunlight and nature as well?! How can a mere human—?!”
“Just happened to be that way.”
“Don’t play games! The energy of the gods can’t be held by mortal beings even if they lived a lifetime—Hey, stop! Stop!”
For all its desperate wriggling, the absorption of divine power was already handled by the eternal blue sky. It just looked like a Yorkie throwing a tantrum about not wanting to be touched.
“Hey, human! Let go! If you take that off now, I’ll forgive you! I’ll make you an apostle of death, someone who stands tall upon the continent!”
“Not interested.”
I’m already a champion of Enen, so why would I want to be an apostle?
“Here, I’ll give you wealth that lasts a lifetime!”
“Nah, I already have tons of money.”
In fact, it would probably last my family for three generations.
“Then, how about honor…!”
“Seriously, enough with the honor and power, just give it up.”
I wondered why all the villains have similar dialogue.
“…Wha?”
“Guess I’m done for here.”
“My resurrection ends here…”
The other evil gods, watching the pitiful struggles of “Death,” murmured gloomily, sensing the impending future.
At least those guys seem to give up pretty quickly, I’m relieved.
I returned the evil gods to being “evil gods” and went back home.
“…A sword? What’s that about?”
“I can explain everything.”
Quickly, I addressed Mar, who was looking at the creatures wrapped in my arms with a dazed expression.
“Humans nowadays live in places like this.”
“Wow, it’s nice! Maybe even fancier than my temple?”
“I… almost froze to death… it’s… warm here…”
“Maybe living as a mortal isn’t so bad after all?”
These absurd creatures that weren’t even human were naturally conversing like people.
“Hey, if you’re absorbing divine energy, shouldn’t you at least provide us with a place to eat and sleep responsibly?”
“Seriously. If you leave us here, we’ll freeze to death, won’t we? Just waiting to die in a place nobody knows?”
“Wow, can you really just leave it like that? That’s pretty harsh.”
“Even though we’re called evil gods, we’ve at least provided as much as we received from our believers… more wicked than evil gods…”
As soon as their divine powers were stripped and they lost their godly status, these mad creatures started desperately clinging to me and appealing emotionally.
Even I felt dizzy looking at the madness they brought, but I could explain everything well enough.
Mar would certainly understand how I ended up with these beings.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.