Malphas summoned the Holy Maiden Yulicia into his mind without hesitation.
Yulicia, her golden eyes shining, spoke up.
“Right now, inside Piggero Temple, one of the closest associates of the God of War Yuma, the mage Cloney, is here as my guest. She’s carrying a strong distrust towards the God of War. If the God has a sincere interest in Cloney, wouldn’t that mean he holds a weakness that could fully control Yuma’s movements?”
The black eyes of Malphas, the God of the Evil Constructions, glimmered with intrigue.
=…Are you really saying that this Cloney is inside Piggero Temple?=
“Yes, you could use your subordinates to confirm it.”
With that kind of statement, it didn’t seem like she was lying. From Yulicia’s perspective, there was no reason to lie to herself either.
Feeling the need to verify the Holy Maiden Yulicia’s words, Malphas began to speak a bit more.
=Have you heard how that associate, Cloney, was disappointed in the God?=
Yulicia recalled the conversation she had while deploying the sound isolation magic on her way from the café to the temple.
“It doesn’t seem to be due to a direct incident, but rather something happened that caused her mental distress.”
=Let’s hear more about this ‘something’.=
“Well, when the God of War Yuma faced the invading gods in his domain, Cloney got caught up dealing with a god of mental prowess and ended up getting hurt. That shock seems to have led her to lose faith.”
=…I see.=
The words of Eltnis, the God of Emptiness, from about a year and a half ago vividly surfaced in Malphas’s mind.
– Do nothing and stay still, it seems that Morg succeeded in a mental attack against the mage and Cat-Folk. If lucky, the Duke might be able to kill him.
Malphas felt no expectations contrary to Eltnis’s dialogue.
‘It’s true. This girl’s words are.’
The fact that Morg succeeded in a mental attack was something Malphas heard directly from Eltnis.
‘If Morg succeeded in a mental attack…then the mage probably wasn’t appointed as Yuma’s apostle.’
The God’s apostle. It seemed obvious that an apostle of the God of War Yuma, who obviously transcends hierarchies, would have a high probability of being immune to mental attacks.
Even if it were a mental attack that far surpassed that of someone like Morg.
‘The chance that she could have become an apostle in just a year and a half…is almost nonexistent.’
But still, even that slim possibility felt suspicious. It was a suspicion born out of the ongoing stream of incomprehensible events that continued to unfold before him.
Doubts arose that couldn’t be avoided due to the impossible events unfolding.
Malphas opened his mouth.
= Doesn’t it seem like that girl has become an apostle of the God of War? =
Yulicia’s expression didn’t waver at all.
“Yes, I asked just in case, but they said she hasn’t. She’s only seventeen… so she probably hasn’t reached the 7th circle necessary to be an apostle.”
= Seventeen? Then she’s definitely not an apostle, =
Malphas calculated.
‘With that guy becoming a god, his human lifespan has become irrelevant. Whether it takes a century or two… he might find a way to kill me somehow. Instead of worrying about that God of War for all that time…’
At least for other gods, but for him, the most certain way was to make some contract that prevented him from being killed.
‘Strike first to seize the weakness.’
Isn’t that very weakness right in front of him?
‘God of War Yuma… who knows when that guy will come to the Order to take the wizard for himself?’
The remaining time could hardly be called plenty.
Malphas nodded, still maintaining the physical form of a black crow.
= Understood. I’ll use that wizard girl to take down God of War Yuma. =
Immediately after saying that, Malphas suddenly shuddered.
‘Whether I put a curse on the wizard girl or whatever… I need to go to the Intermediate World.’
It depended on whether it was a divine manifestation or a descent.
‘If I manifest… the medium would be that paper right in front of me.’
An object that had accumulated divine power for a long time.
He’d have plenty of time to withstand his own divine power for a curse. Of course, the end would simply be death.
‘Directly descending would be the most certain approach, but… the risks are too high.’
According to Eltnis, the God of Emptiness, that guy supposedly knew the exact location of the gods invading the Intermediate World.
‘For a god born of humans to possess the power unique to [Emptiness]…’
Though he thought that way, if he coldly considered that the God of War was the only main god in the Intermediate World, at least he would have power comparable to [Emptiness].
‘Whether the manifestation would hide it completely is uncertain, but… it’s certainly less risky than directly descending.’
In an urgent situation, he could simply return his soul without suffering any impact.
‘Even if he could confine a deity that had descended once in the Intermediate World… that’s only because those idiots descended with their physical forms.’
‘That’s because I descended with a physical body.’
Malphas came to a conclusion.
‘After possessing this woman’s body, I just need to perfectly curse that girl named Cloney… and extract an oath of non-death from the God of War Yuma, ensuring he will never kill me, along with a non-invasion oath that he could never enter my land.’
Malphas didn’t even expect a result wearing the name of victory, like defeating or completely killing the God of War Yuma. He just thought about grasping Yuma’s weakness somehow and making sure that he couldn’t attack.
It was evident how psychologically cornered Malphas was.
Malphas gazed at Yulicia.
=I’ll possess your body tomorrow.=
From Yulicia’s perspective, a god’s soul possessing her body felt like receiving a death sentence.
But of course, she didn’t show any sign of that.
Death, pfft.
She had been keeping that in mind ever since this situation popped up in her head.
=You’re going to die; does that not matter to you?=
Yulicia thought maybe she could be a bit more honest in front of Malphas for the first time.
“Yes, it’s okay. It would be an honor for me to die for you, Lord Malphas, who has graced me with your favor.”
If she could become a piece of the picture that kills you, then that would be honorable.
*
Yuma set foot in the Wirend Kingdom.
“Wow, there are so many people here.”
The person gazing at the capital of Wirend with sparkling pink eyes was Bell, the apostle of the God of War.
“Right?”
Next to Bell was the Holy Maiden Ermel, donned in a pure white dress.
Bell turned her head back.
She strode towards Yuma.
“Hmm… No matter how I look at it, I can’t get used to this.”
With narrowed eyes, Bell tiptoed to glance up at Yuma.
Yuma’s current face was not his original face.
It was transformed by the magic of the Elf Luine.
Bell’s low voice reached Yuma’s ears.
“It seems a bit too soft and pretty for a person.”
Yuma blinked in response.
“Soft?”
“No, the more I look, the more it’s not just soft; it has something… suspicious about it. Like someone hiding a lot of things.”
In other words, it meant he had become a face of some eerie dark plot.
It’s true he hid a lot, so it didn’t feel particularly remarkable.
Yuma chuckled while looking at Bell’s face, which was right in front of him.
He chuckled lightly while looking at Belle, whose face was right in front of him.
Belle couldn’t loosen her narrowed eyes even at Yuma’s half-hearted laugh.
It really looked like what he just said.
“Ugh… I need to quickly turn you back to your original face!”
After staring at Yuma for a while, Belle said that and finally lowered herself from her tiptoes.
“… Is our number sufficient?”
The person who stepped out behind Belle was her younger brother, Haven. Now that he’d reached the realm of a Sword Master, he awkwardly stood there, leading four subordinates who were slightly weaker than him.
Without hesitation, Yuma nodded.
“It’s enough.”
Yuma was confident.
The problem was with the Evil God, Malphas. The organization Piggero itself wasn’t a major variable.
Yuma’s party entered an inn in the capital.
After spending a night there, they were set to begin their journey to subdue the Evil God.
They arrived in the kingdom when it was already deep into the night, so they passed the night at the inn without any additional plans.
The next morning, a message came from Cloney.
– You should be able to come in now.
Yuma responded to Cloney’s message.
– Understood.
Following Cloney’s directions, Yuma led the party.
After passing through a dense forest, they spotted a massive temple hidden in nature.
As soon as Yuma stopped walking, Belle, Ermel, and Haven, along with his subordinates, halted together.
“There are guards.”
Yuma recalled what Cloney had said.
– I’ve given word that there are people coming from the Empire for worship.
Yuma planned to enter quietly.
It was clear that they’d cause chaos once inside, but he wanted to minimize variables as much as possible.
– They will be on alert if a group comes.
“Go alone.”
Yuma slowly walked forward.
Step by step—
As a person who obviously looked like a noble approached, the guards of the Piggero temple on either side held their spears upright.
“… Who are you?”
“I am Count Kashire from the Empire. I came on the recommendation of a mage who entered the order under the invitation of the Holy Maiden.”
Count Kashire.
That was the identity Yuma was currently disguised as.
Upon hearing that name, the guards completely relaxed their vigilance. It was a name they’d been tipped off about beforehand.
“Oh, please come in.”
Yuma’s party was able to enter Piggero just like that.
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