The view was completely filled with a type of gigantic demon I had never seen before in my life.
Well, is it really right to call it a demon? It looked completely different from any demons I had encountered until now.
It felt alien. It didn’t seem like a creature existing in this world.
Its appearance was not very different from what we think of when we hear ‘demon.’ Red skin, looking as if drenched in blood, and two long horns protruding from its head.
It resembled a human in shape, but anyone looking at it would not think of it as a ‘human.’
Violently bulging muscles quivered. It stretched out its hand as it hung upside down in the air.
It blocked the miracle of Ariel extending from my hand, even the one enhanced by my own power.
…‘Blocked it’? No, thinking again, that wasn’t the case.
The skin where the miracle’s power reached started to melt away.
However, it absolutely couldn’t break through. Whether it was due to its thick skin or some form of immunity to the gods’ powers, it was ‘receiving’ the miracle’s power with its melting hand.
“…Grr.”
Blood was gushing out from the hole in its hand. I felt something rough touch the palm of my other hand. It was probably a shard of my own hand that had broken away.
“Clara!”
Someone called my name.
I heard something whooshing, followed by a thud, and then a sliding sound.
When I turned my head, I saw someone collapse in the hazy distance. They were wearing white. I couldn’t tell if it was Linea, Aurora, or Rina.
“No, don’t!”
I pulled more miracles from my right hand. Creeeak, creeeak, it sounded like pieces of porcelain scraping against each other.
“Hehe.”
A booming, ominous sound that felt like something massive was laughing echoed in my ears.
No, there was no time to worry about that laughter right now.
I stretched out my remaining good left hand. And then, I shot Ariel’s Holy Power.
Boom, that power was blocked by something.
A thick, tree-like mass was preventing the force from my hand from reaching the fallen person.
“Kuh!”
I turned my head again to look up at what was filling my vision.
A gigantic hand, seemingly capable of squishing a person with just a fingertip, was slowly coming down towards me. As if it were ignoring the melting skin, it was steadily approaching while pushing back the miracle’s power.
It felt like we were in a struggle, each trying to block the other’s hand like some gigantic pillar.
“Don’t interfere!”
Crack, I heard something embedding into the ground. But I had no time to look in that direction.
I layered my right hand over my outstretched left, this time calling the power of Ariel with both hands. Then, I mixed the white light pouring out from my body into that divine power.
Drip, drip.
Something white kept falling from my hands. Red liquid flowed down from my hands and arms. The drops hitting the ground barely returned it to its original color.
So that’s how it is.
That was it.
From the very beginning, demons had long since given up on taking over this world.
No, rather, they had probably given up on living entirely.
Anyway, now that they had lost all their limbs, and since humans had a definite way to exterminate them, they had no way to escape death.
So this was just a last-ditch struggle.
Was it a last attempt to cause significant damage by burning their lives away?
“Not that.”
I clenched my teeth. Crunch.
I took a step forward.
A boom erupted from this small girl’s body, a sound that felt unexpected.
“…Heal!”
I shouted with all my strength. I didn’t need to chant to use the Holy Power anymore, but I felt like I wouldn’t be able to concentrate at all if I didn’t act like that now.
Fortunately, a faint Holy Power wrapped around my body. My leg, which had likely suffered terrible shock, regained its strength.
I took another step forward.
“…Hmm.”
Seeing me moving closer, the demon made that noise.
However, unlike when I had met with that masked demon earlier, there was no conversation between us. There was no need for such things anymore.
Our ultimate goal was to break each other, so there was no need for negotiation or persuasion.
Boom.
This sound came from the front. It was the sound of the demon taking a step forward, not mine.
“Kuh!”
I felt as if my whole body were collapsing. My feet sank into the ground. My waist and shoulders creaked.
The pinky of my right hand, which had been hanging by a thread, dropped down. The fingertip that touched the ground shattered.
Now, most of my palm was filled with holes.
My body was falling apart.
Blood streamed from my left hand too. Even through my layered hands, I could see enough to know how bad the condition was; the holes in my hands were getting larger.
A single step, I walked.
My eyes were bright. Light flowed from behind me, illuminating the path ahead.
As a child, I once wondered why gods have halos behind their heads. Perhaps the gods in myths were depicted with halos as symbols of something within their bodies rather than the flesh itself. I had casually adopted that setting in this world…
…That setting that I had carelessly written down actually made sense in this world, showcasing a slightly different appearance from what I had imagined when I used it.
The light behind me was supporting me.
The light emanating from me came entirely from the faith of the people.
That faith was now sustaining me.
I couldn’t take a single step back. I couldn’t do something like that. People believed that I would defeat that demon.
My right hand crumbled and fell to pieces.
My left hand wasn’t in great shape either. But still, I couldn’t stop.
I heard something explode. I saw something shining near the demon’s head, indicating that firepower was being concentrated on it.
However, the demon was still maintaining its form.
“After sacrificing so many, all you plan to do is kill me?”
That voice wasn’t very loud.
But it seemed to sound very clear to the demon struggling against me.
“That one is who they think is the goddess.”
The deep, rumbling voice boomed.
“In just a few months after appearing, she has become the very hope that changed the course of history in this world.”
The demon leaned slightly toward me.
One of its horns was broken, and blood was running down its head. Yet it looked bright, thrilled even, to be able to contest against me, the goddess, right now.
That’s quite perverse.
“By smashing such a thing, I will bring despair back to them. I will engrave a fear they will never forget.”
“How quaint.”
…
But unfortunately, I wasn’t a match it could easily overcome.
Was Jian still fighting some other demons over there?
If dragging out time was the objective, then the demon’s plan was a success. Even if I realized it first, if I lost, then the demon would still win.
Right, if I lose…
“…Hah.”
For the first time in a long while, a chilling laugh escaped my lips.
Yes, that’s right.
If it’s to defeat ‘me,’ I’ll absolutely let you do so.
But you will never win against ‘them.’
I pulled Ariel’s power with all my might.
My left hand was completely broken as well. Even the wrist was no longer visible.
But the power I summoned from it was more than enough.
An intense golden light expanded, momentarily larger than the demon’s hand. The force flowing between its fingers connected directly with its face. The goddess’s power, intense and divine, deepened into the demon’s flesh and burned it away.
“Grah!”
It let out a pitiful sound, quite unbecoming of its massive size.
But the demon’s hand still didn’t move away. It did pull back slightly. The skin had nearly burned away, the muscles were exposed, and even those were scorched, secreting no fluid anymore as its hand moved back, clearing the sky from my sight.
The demon was still alive, but it was fine. After all, that attack was merely for this one moment.
I stretched my arms toward the sky, where the bright sky was visible. Blood dripped down my face. I felt as if I was being drenched by lukewarm rain.
Then, I released the ‘faith’ of the people that had been supporting me until that point.
Up into the sky, towards the heights.
Surely, it would have connected clearly.
*
The demon momentarily covered its face as it pulled back.
Its remaining horn had burned away, and over half of its facial skin had vanished. The sight of the demon resembled an image of pure horror.
In that very moment it retreated, another light beam shot up towards the sky from where the goddess had stood.
It was the power I had seen before on the battlefield, the one that stripped away the demonic mana enveloping the heavens.
No, this power was slightly different.
It wasn’t a force intended to make something vanish. The force that penetrated straight up into the sky wasn’t meant to eliminate, but rather—
It was a force meant to ‘send’ something.
Those who believed in the goddess felt it. For a moment, they sensed a connection to something.
And deep within their hearts, they realized what that entailed.
“A, ahh.”
Linea, who had collapsed on the ground, reached out her hand towards Clara, who was standing firm. Being struck by that enormous tentacle was inconsequential now.
In the most crucial moment, hadn’t she stated that if Clara were willing to sacrifice herself, she’d jump in to take her place?
But what could she do at this very moment?
“Linea.”
Someone called out to Linea while holding her shoulder, but she twisted her body away.
“Clara!”
Her vision blurred from the overflowing tears.
She had never looked at Clara like this before.
The sense of awe, the faith that awakens humanity’s instincts was now emanating from Clara.
Clara had now drawn closer than ever to being a ‘goddess.’
She had always been a goddess, while she was down here, but at this moment, having sacrificed everything for the people, and with her halo— which had always slightly dimmed over the past few days—now vanished, she appeared closer to the existence of a ‘god’ than ever before.
That instinctively resonated within Linea.
No, it was being sensed by everyone present.
Aurora, who was clinging to Linea, and Rina, who looked ready to rush forth to Clara.
Everyone was shedding tears witnessing her smiling face without any hesitation, despite extending her hands toward the sky, now devoid of any regrets.
And after that ‘one moment’ ended.
A grotesque hand descended upon Clara’s body.
*
“…Did I die?”
I muttered in a daze.
Hmm, well, I don’t think I can be certain about that.
The place visible to my eyes was the Temple of Gods, but the clothes I was wearing were the very armor I had fought the demons in just a moment ago.
…Considering how severely dented my chest and waist were, it seemed that the demon really did succeed in crushing me with that hand.
And the hands.
If my soul had returned to the Temple of Gods then even my hand, which was just a part of the flesh, should have returned too. The soul is supposed to be an immortal entity in this world.
So, considering all these facts…
“This place is inside my consciousness, isn’t it?”
Thinking about the way my current condition reflected what I was just conscious of, it made sense to conclude that.
“I usually act with no brain and sometimes unexpectedly become quite clever.”
“……”
The only existence that could say something this rude to the one treated as a goddess could only be one.
“…Baal.”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“…Inside my consciousness?”
“No, if it were your consciousness, I wouldn’t be able to implement this detail.”
The Demon God sat down, rhythmically drumming his fingers on the armrest. He looked quite pleased. In fact, he had an expression that seemed like he could burst into laughter at any moment.
…Given that I had just been in a life-and-death situation moments ago.
“I asked for another chance.”
A pleasant feminine voice echoed.
“Since there were some lacking points in your consciousness last time, this time, I carefully observed and created everything down to the fine details.”
Ariel said, chuckling softly.
“But perhaps it was inadequate to deceive you.”
“Well, if my body were fine, I would’ve definitely been deceived.”
As I raised what used to be my hand to comfort her, Ariel’s expression turned into a mess instantly.
With a face that looked like she was about to cry, Ariel hurriedly approached me.
She touched the fractured section of my hand, which resembled broken porcelain, and said,
“Oh no, this is so serious…”
“Well, it’s not like it’s anything I regret… I’m sorry.”
“We should be the ones apologizing. Why should you be the one to feel sorry?”
“It’s your body created for me after all.”
“……”
Ariel fell silent at my response.
“In the first place, all you did was give me another chance when I was already dead. You made it possible for me to use powerful Holy Powers, and while I didn’t desire it, I got to experience being a Saintess and a Goddess. I surely wouldn’t have had the opportunity to experience such things back in my world.”
…Except for being a Saintess, which was obviously something I wouldn’t have heard as a man. But aside from that, within just a few months, there must not have been a crazy situation where I climbed to a position akin to the head of a nation.
Thinking that I probably wouldn’t have to go back down made me feel like it was quite a good experience.
“The last power I used, did it reach you properly?”
“Yes, of course.”
Ariel smiled at me with her teary eyes.
“Then, I ask of you. I will… be waiting up there.”
“Ahem.”
As I said so to Ariel, Baal cleared his throat beside us. Having already risen from his seat and coming to stand right next to me, he then said as I turned my gaze toward him.
“You seem to be seriously mistaken about something.”
……
“What?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Baal replied.
“I pondered where to begin explaining your utterly misguided thoughts, but I’d say starting with that part where you claimed we ‘created’ you is a good beginning.”
Baal leaned down to meet my gaze.
“You think we made you? Don’t make me laugh. The beings who are called gods aren’t created by mere creation.”
“What?”
I questioned, but Baal just scoffed and continued speaking.
“Sure, we made your body a bit tougher. But under my claim that another demon can’t be created, your body has been made to be not much different from that of a human. Given my blessings, you won’t suffer excessive pain, and due to being among the strongest humans, you are less likely to have your body ruined by the power of miracles compared to others. But that’s it. From down there, you are no different from any other human.”
I frowned and tried to swat Baal’s finger away, but since I had just lost my hand, my arm merely cut through the air. Seeing that, Baal sighed softly and stopped poking my head.
“However, the faith of the people is not something we created. Faith cannot be fabricated. What we gave you is just that body. Even your Holy Power didn’t come from us. It was merely the power you could use based on the conviction you had in us. The reason they came to believe in you was due to your own self.”
“And that has become the faith of the people.”
Ariel added.
“That faith led you on the path to being a goddess. Simply by them ‘believing’ in you without expecting anything in return.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“Ah, so.”
After taking a moment to collect my thoughts, I finally grasped the situation again and asked.
“So… you’re saying that the reason they came to believe in me entirely hinges on my own contribution and that the fact I became a goddess was not part of your plans at all?”
“Well, that’s right.”
Baal answered, his expression slightly strange. It looked like he might have felt ‘uncomfortable’ by some measure.
“…What, if you’ve got something you’re hiding, you might as well just spit it out.”
As I glared at Baal, he looked around nervously and replied.
“Well, to be honest, I kind of felt that perhaps we might be the fundamental cause of you becoming a goddess.”
“…Wait, just a moment ago, you said it was entirely my achievement.”
“That’s right. Only you can ‘convince’ others to believe in you.”
“So then?”
I inquired skeptically, and Ariel replied with a bright smile.
“That’s the ‘belief’ of the gods, after all.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“Oh, so.”
Having lost my words momentarily, I managed to gather my wits and asked again.
“So you’re saying… everything Baal just said was entirely sincere? You’re not just messing with me to get a laugh?”
“Of course. I could make jokes about that… it’s entertaining enough, but why would I have to lie for that?”
“Then you intentionally revealed it all!”
I attempted to grab Baal by the collar, but with my external hand missing, I couldn’t even do that. Damn it.
“It’s accurate to say we were indeed the first believers. From the moment before you were called a goddess, we had faith in you.”
“Isn’t becoming a god too easy!?”
“Anyone who thinks it’s easy to convince people to believe without giving something in return is someone who is only as naïve as you.”
Baal said while laughing, then he shrugged.
“Well, I do agree that faith isn’t something I make out of mere wishful thinking, though.”
“……”
Ah, I felt somewhat drained.
As I let out a deep sigh and slumped my shoulders, Baal and Ariel shared a laugh together.
“Anyway, so. What’s the reason for calling me into this consciousness?”
“Simply because there’s no way you would actually die.”
“…Seriously?”
I asked, feeling suspicious, and Ariel responded.
“Yes.”
“Because you’ve done so much for us. We intend to fully utilize this opportunity you created.”
“As a god in such a long time.”
“Is that so…”
Hmm.
Well… if I don’t die, it seems that unwelcome troubles will never leave me throughout my life.
But thinking about it, it may not be a bad thing after all?
“Well then,”
I smiled at both of them.
“Thank you in advance.”
*
What he first felt was ecstasy.
Reborn as the strongest being after devouring his kin, he could finally deal with the thorn in his side that had been pushing his army back single-handedly.
In the process, he lost all the witches, most of his army, and he suffered massive wounds himself, but he didn’t care in the slightest.
Though he had initially failed to become the everlasting being that had discarded the gods and decided to enjoy immortality without being judged, he could now contest against the goddess who had directly descended onto this land.
What is the power of a god? No, what exactly is a god?
An object of faith.
A witness to belief.
The ruler of the world.
…An object of fear.
He had not achieved his ultimate goal. Yet they had secured one thing. Skipping centuries, they finally felt that they had become ‘equal’ to a god.
The god who had been so far removed from them now lay helpless beneath one of their own.
He wasn’t dead yet. But his arms were already fragmented, and the remainder of his form would soon shatter as well.
“……”
But it was strange.
No one showed any sign of fear towards him.
No, there weren’t even those who were paying him any attention.
Each gathered soldier, even the forefront of humanity surrounding the fallen goddess, nobody was looking his way.
Were they disregarding him because he had taken such severe wounds? Or was it that they thought they could win at any moment?
The reality was such. Though he had achieved the minimum objective, he had to face the imminent death, regardless. The remaining weapons would soon tear apart what was left of the demon.
If so, he would move himself to shred them. He would slaughter as many as possible. Thus he would forever be remembered with fear.
Perhaps he could even flip their newfound belief on its head.
As he thought and prepared to move, the demon abruptly flinched and halted.
…No, not at all. It was entirely different. It wasn’t confidence or arrogance.
Nor was it rage or a lust for revenge.
Despair or pessimism? Nope.
They were simply shedding tears.
Indeed. What came from them was nothing but sorrow.
Who was the first? Perhaps it was a priest that had once been a demon in the past who caught the fallen goddess. He could have been the man hailed as this world’s strongest swordsman, or could have been the head of the Inquisition, or the commander of the Saint Knights, or perhaps even one of the three saintesses.
No, perhaps all of them were at the same time.
All of them knelt down.
Not just them. All the humans surrounding them, no, all the ‘people’ were on their knees.
Before their strongest enemy of all time, they knelt down, praying, without even looking at him.
In that moment before the goddess breathed her last— for the sake of this one humble body.
How pitiful.
…But even that word couldn’t escape his lips.
Something was stopping his utterance.
No, it was stopping his actions.
It was not something physical. Not magic, not Holy Power, not miracles either. The light that had been emanating from the goddess’s hand was now gone.
What was stopping his movements was, ironically, himself.
Despite his enormous size, he trembled.
His extremely advanced abilities and instincts continuously warned him of something.
Something has gone wrong.
This scene before his eyes is something completely wrong.
But what? What is wrong?
It did not take long to identify what was amiss.
It was because he saw the sky opening and the light pouring down from it.
He felt a fear he had never once experienced before, as he watched the radiance rising from every corner of the vast human society, every place on the planet where beings known as humans existed, that no one could deny.
Something was about to happen.
Even when faced with the most skilled swordsman, or the Saintess who attacked herself without hesitation for the power of miracles, he had never once felt such a fear before. Now, that overwhelming sensation surged through him.
He felt a chill that he had never known since the day he was born.
*
People use the word miracle in various contexts.
A phenomenon so wondrous and unfathomable that it can only be achieved by the powers of gods. Great power, not achievable through Holy Power, is labeled as a miracle by people. A massive force beyond a typical human’s capability. Perhaps merely being able to wield the power of miracles could itself be considered a miracle.
Sometimes, miraculous events are described as happenings that seem unlikely to take place at all.
Surviving a collapsed building ‘miraculously’, or enduring the ferocious storm ‘miraculously’, or winning the lottery with ‘miraculous odds.’
Yet not every improbable event is called a miracle. Only situations regarded as favorable by people receive the term miracle. They do not call sudden lightning strikes or unexpected natural disasters “miracles.”
That’s right. Miracles are precisely such.
Thus, if quarrelsome groups of people pause in their strife, even for a single moment, and sincerely pray for just one person, that could certainly be regarded as a miraculous event of monumental proportions.
And if there exists a god capable of hearing that prayer in this world, should all prayers and hopes converge as one—
How formidable would the minimum miracle they would invoke in that singular moment be?
Although I have said it before, even the gods do not know the answer to that.
I saw the light beam from the heavens. At that distant height, I could see the light beaming down toward me.
“…It’s… impossible…”
The demon’s deep, low voice echoed.
“Well indeed, it’s unbelievable.”
With both hands— no, given that it was more appropriate to refer to them as arms now. Regardless, while blood was pouring from both arms, I could laugh.
“Yet you see, it’s always been this way.”
The demon gazed down at me with a blank expression. Then, he quickly retracted the hand pressing down on me, as if he didn’t realize until now that it was burning hot.
Yet his hand had long since melted down to mere bones.
I had come down to this world with a human body. Hence, I could draw upon the powers of other gods. It has proven useful. But the limitations were equally significant. The body of a human couldn’t handle everything.
However, if a goddess descends upon the world not in a human body but in her own divine form, what could she possibly do?
Isn’t it reasonable to think that she could easily melt what couldn’t be pierced by the miracles enhanced by my powers?
“Miracles themselves are inherently unreasonable.”
I laid my head back down on the ground. Ah, my vision feels so dizzy now.
I heard the voices of those calling out for me desperately. Not just one person. It seemed more than one. Fading into darkness, I saw their faint faces.
Among those faces, I spotted a golden-haired woman in the distance.
Standing with her back towards the descending golden light, purifying all of the monsters and demons below her was an image that—
Somehow resembled a painting I had once seen.
*
…The ceiling was unfamiliar.
It wasn’t the first time I had seen it. So it meant I hadn’t seen it often.
“…Central Church?”
That’s right. This was the luxurious VIP room of the Central Church I had visited a few times previously. A ceiling so distinctive and extravagant that I could remember it even after just a few visits.
“Yes, 1st District. To be frank, it’s an incredibly long distance for the patient to be moved.”
Crunch, crunch. A sound that was hardly sophisticated rang out.
Grunting, I leaned my elbow on the bed and tried to lift myself. Upon glancing over at the chair next to my bed, I found someone sitting there. Instantly, I frowned.
“Popping a frown at the sight of my face is quite impolite.”
“Is chomping on popcorn while looking down at a comatose patient considered polite?”
As I said that, I quickly moved my hand to check. Thanks to this, my back fell back onto the bed with a thud.
I found my hand, perfectly intact.
In fact, there weren’t even any holes from the stigmata.
I looked at Baal, but he was too preoccupied munching away at the popcorn.
“Hmm, it’s less fancy than I expected but actually tasty.”
I could vividly envision the scene of Baal making the finest popcorn to present to the church. Visions of the church procuring the finest corn, carefully popping it, picking only the most impeccably popped kernels, arranging them with tweezers so they wouldn’t break… I could fully understand that image.
…I had to make sure not to share that story with the church people.
Upon seeing me look at him, Baal, presumably knowing what I was thinking, said,
“Don’t worry. I’ve already mentioned it nicely to the people.”
“…What did you say?”
“Hmmm, let’s see…”
*
After Baal and Ariel brought me to the 1st District, he went straight to visit the Pope. Ariel wanted to see the believers, but there weren’t many people Baal deemed as believers, so he figured it best to meet the person he had found interesting first.
“If you have something to ask, feel free.”
Without even a greeting, Baal went straight to the point.
“Is that really… okay?”
How odd it was, but the Pope responded like that instantly.
“If not now, then when? Ask away. I’ll be sure to answer before I leave.”
“We’ll if that’s the case…”
The Pope gulped nervously and asked this.
“Where does the goddess, Clara, stand among the deities?”
“To that, Baal smirked and replied, “You already know, don’t you? The one we believe in is that goddess. Perhaps even much before you began to believe in her.”
*
“What are you out of your mind!?”
When I shrieked, almost like a scream, Baal frowned.
“I’m perfectly sane. If we’re comparing, your mental state seems peculiarly strange than mine.”
I slapped my forehead.
“Is the Pope fine right now?”
“Ariel’s looking after him.”
“He’s going to faint again just after waking up.”
“Yeah, he probably knows how to drop at the right timing now.”
“Will he? Because I could totally see Ariel holding his hand and asking if he’s doing okay.”
Baal, still holding the popcorn bag, got up. He wore a very sophisticated suit, but holding popcorn somehow made the scene feel rather imbalanced.
“What day is it today?”
“They say it’s the day before a very significant thanksgiving prayer.”
“…Is that so?”
I had been asleep for quite some time.
“…You’re really standing there, aren’t you?”
“Is your vision still blurry?”
I threw the pillow that had been lying by my head with all my strength. The pillow made a thump, successfully hitting Baal’s face before it plummeted.
“What was that for?”
“Just proving your existence.”
As I smiled, Baal let out a deep sigh.
“Well, take some time to rest. Many people were eager to see you. I expect a good number will come soon after I leave.”
“I guess I have no choice since I worried them.”
To my response, Baal simply gave a small smile and shrugged his shoulders.
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