A brilliant light burst forth.
The Goddess, who had been saying nothing but words that rattled Eliserde’s spirit, suddenly closed her eyes and began to concentrate on something.
To her, it felt like just a fleeting moment. When the Goddess finally opened her eyes and smiled softly, she said,
[With this, I’ve done all I needed to do.]
It was an incomprehensible statement. What had the Goddess done?
However, Eliserde could sense that her divinity was unstable.
Just moments ago, it had felt shaky and precarious, but now it was on a different trajectory. The once warm light was flickering hundreds of times per second, and the beautiful world that had been composed around them was slowly beginning to crumble.
“G… Goddess?”
[This is my token.]
The Goddess pointed to the light in Eliserde’s hand.
Even as the world fell apart, there lay a warm, golden piece of paper softly radiating a gentle light.
The Goddess looked at it and smiled tenderly.
[It seems like… this is the end of the role I had to play.]
As she said this, the Goddess appeared somehow relieved.
Her face, made of light, had begun to crack, crumbling like broken pieces, yet she carried herself with an air of calm, as if she already knew what was coming.
It was clear that the world was about to collapse.
Thus, Eliserde focused on the Goddess’s words.
It seemed there were still things she needed to say.
[Normally, I wouldn’t have used all my strength here… but if I left it be, a war was destined to break out.]
“War?”
[Yes, a war between the Trelinia Kingdom and the Holy Empire Eiros.]
“……!!”
Eliserde’s eyes widened in shock.
Now that she thought about it, it made sense. Just looking at the current state of the Saint, it was evident that the head of the Holy Empire was in a rotting state.
Would such a decayed leader let the Trelinia Kingdom be in a circumstance like this? It was obvious they would seize any opportunity to bring ruin upon the Trelinia Kingdom. The kidnapping of the Holy Empire’s Saint was a colossal event after all.
Perhaps what they desired was the downfall of Lord Jörmungandr.
[However, that child is extremely strong, and despite everyone else’s attempts to bring him down, he would manage to live on just fine… but it would be incredibly tough and leave scars.]
Lord Jörmungandr would not be defeated.
However, fighting against many humans, killing them, and facing the scorn of the world would not be an easy feat.
Originally, he would have had to make a choice.
To protect the Trelinia Kingdom and take the world’s arrows directed at himself.
Or abandon the Trelinia Kingdom and maintain his dignity as a god.
[If it were that child, he would surely… choose the difficult path.]
Because that was the kind of child he was.
Even if everyone pointed fingers at him, he was someone who would look toward the right path.
That was why he manifested.
The Holy Empire was deeply corrupted, with symbols of the Demon God surrounding it, yet it was still an empire that served the Goddess. Thus, the probability of her manifestations was ample.
She showed miracles to the Holy Kingdom.
And killed the Pope, who was about to declare war.
With that, the war would no longer happen. The Pope’s corruption was already known, so the Saint, his proxy, would take over from there.
[Looking at this, it seems I have inflicted too many trials upon our Saint….]
Ideally, she wished to let her be born in blessings.
To let the whole world bless the birth of the Saint and wish for happiness among all.
But everything went awry.
The Demon God brainwashed and corrupted even the world’s arbiters, and in the end, she couldn’t protect her children from their grasp.
That was why she always felt sorry.
For all her children, and for the Saint.
For having burdened them with such heavy loads.
[As much as I would like to help further… I guess this is all I can do.]
The Goddess raised her hand.
Her hand had already become a black shard, scattering and turning black all the way to her elbows.
“Are you… dying?”
As Eliserde asked heavily, the Goddess looked at her and smiled adorably.
[No. I’m just… going to sleep for a long while.]
What she could do ended here.
To directly seal away the corrupted arbiters of this world and prevent the chaos that would ensue from the Pope and the manifestation of the Demon God.
Of course, she hadn’t fully stopped the Demon God yet.
[If I embed that token deep in the Holy Kingdom… it should suppress them to some extent.]
That was why she gave them a part of herself.
Still.
She had disposed of the Pope, yet remnants of the Demon God remained.
The remnants of the Demon God, which had been gnawing away at the sanctity of the Holy Kingdom for quite some time, were likely taking form and reorganizing themselves now.
Though they were immensely weaker in comparison to the true Demon God… they were parts of its body.
There was always a risk of momentarily manifesting one of them.
So please.
[Can you protect this world… our world….]
The Goddess’s voice grew faint as it turned to dust.
A whisper of the breeze caressed the air. Yet, she surely wished for the preservation of the world until the very end.
Eliserde nodded her head, hugging the token tightly as she faced the crumbling world one last time.
“Yes, I definitely will.”
Feeling as though the collapsing world was smiling at her, the Goddess drifted into a long slumber.
* * *
When she regained consciousness, she found herself asleep against Lord Jörmungandr’s body.
[Are you coming to?]
“Are you okay?”
As she suddenly opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the gigantic serpent, Lord Jörmungandr, and the Saint clinging closely to him.
Eliserde exchanged glances with the two and nodded.
“Did you… hear it too, Lord Jörmungandr?”
[Yes.]
Jörmungandr nodded readily.
The connection between him and the Goddess was unbreakable. Naturally, whatever she felt in any world, Jörmungandr would feel as well.
‘In this case, it was probably close to what the Goddess directly showed.’
He could sense her gaze upon him, occasionally catching her smiling sweetly in return.
[We must head to the Holy Kingdom.]
“Right.”
Jörmungandr mulled over the Goddess’s words.
‘The remnants of the Demon God…’
Were they anything like what was inscribed on the Saint’s body?
As he pondered, Jörmungandr shook his head.
‘That can’t be it.’
If it were just that, the Goddess wouldn’t have directly given a token and asked Eliserde for help. If it were that weak, he could have swallowed it whole immediately.
There was no way it would even compare.
If it could manifest parts of the true Demon God, the quantity of those remnants must be vastly different.
Thus, the Goddess had given the token to weaken whatever remnants of the Demon God might manifest.
One mystery unraveled itself.
‘I was summoned by the Goddess.’
More accurately, it was closer to saying he was directly birthed by her.
He hadn’t just dropped into this world out of nowhere. She had twisted the fate of one of the most likely monsters to bring him here, altering the predetermined destiny.
‘To protect the world, huh…’
The Goddess expected him to become its protector.
One day, he was to devour even the Demon God and change the end of this world, festering with chaos and destruction.
A question arose.
Even if she was a Goddess, she couldn’t have known him that well.
What on earth made her trust him so completely enough to fall asleep, surely without even having a proper meeting with him?
Another thought crossed his mind.
‘Such tedious things aren’t for me.’
Protect the world?
Why in the world should he go through with that?
Such tasks felt nothing but bothersome.
The very fact that he had a predetermined destiny stirred his rebellious spirit.
But.
[If it’s to protect my connections.]
If there were idiots blocking his path,
He’d gladly chew them up.
He would make them regret being born into this world, ending their lives steeped in endless despair and fear.
Jörmungandr looked down at the two women before him.
“……?”
“……!”
The head-tilting Eliserde and the overly joyous Belial, who was practically bouncing at the sight of him.
Both were undoubtedly.
Precious connections.
One was his Goddess.
The other had received his grace.
He wasn’t one to offer help without a price. The one who received his assistance would have to bring about a refreshing change in his otherwise monotonous life.
Yet, if it meant protecting them all,
[Let’s head to the Holy Kingdom.]
“Yes!”
“I’ll guide you!”
The two nodded eagerly.
However, the Saint frowned slightly.
“But… if Lord Jörmungandr appears personally, it will draw attention.”
Naturally, that would attract the gaze of the Demon God.
It would make it hard to infiltrate the depths of the Holy Kingdom and implant the Goddess’s token.
As though he already understood the problem, Jörmungandr nodded.
[I’ve already prepared a solution for that issue.]
Saying this, Lord Jörmungandr declared.
Pu—!
“He… Lord Jörmungandr?!”
Suddenly shrouded in smoke.
And as the smoke gradually cleared,
[That should do it.]
There lay a serpent.
A little serpent, no bigger than the palm of an adult woman.
He held his head high and proudly inspected his own body.
[Hmm, seems to have gone well for a first time.]
Lord Jörmungandr smiled proudly.
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