Chapter 75: Menhera

Monitor Room Managing Rudera

“…Huh?”

A sound of bewilderment escaped from Albus, who was sitting comfortably in his chair, checking the condition of Rudera.

“What is this…?”

The monitor in front of him visualized and displayed in real-time the divine energy flowing into him, using a chart that looked like the candlestick charts of stocks or cryptocurrencies from a past life. 

As a long, thick red bar shot up on the chart, Albus unknowingly let out a small sigh.

“…Did something happen again without me knowing?”

Since the [Second Day of Miracles], the faith in GM had solidified and a massive amount of divine energy had flowed into him.

However, the amount he could actually use hadn’t increased significantly compared to before. 

To measure this properly, he had set up a divine energy measurement and quantification device with the help of Dua and the Guide.

Thanks to this, Albus had realized that the divine energy flowing into him had suddenly begun to swell.

Ding.

A community screen popped up in front of Albus.

“…GM’s…Saint?”

Scrolling through the community, Albus checked the popular posts he hadn’t seen before and quickly grasped what had happened.

“Did they mistake Marfa for a saint I appointed myself?”

A holy woman who directly pleaded with the gods, offering everything to them and bringing divine salvation to the continent. 

As rumors about the birth of this saint and the divine narrative spread, a solid myth began to form, and the faith in GM grew even stronger.

“…It might not be entirely wrong.”

Leaning back in his chair, Albus continued to read through the community posts.

If it hadn’t been for Marfa, he wouldn’t have even thought about bringing down the [Miracle]. 

Moreover, it was true that he had appointed her as a broadcast manager, so it wasn’t exactly a lie to say she was chosen by the gods.

“Saint… That could work.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Albus manipulated the command window and created a new class.

[Saint of GM]

After the Apostle, a Saint.

It was a new case where public perception, rather than Albus’s intention, had manifested into reality.

“…But, does that mean both administrators are demons?”

He hadn’t thought about having a quota for races or anything, but he felt strangely uncomfortable, as if he were favoring demons for no particular reason.

***

A pitch-black space filled with dark energy where not even an inch ahead could be seen.

“So, it’s a succubus this time, is it?”

A young girl with an alluring appearance sat elegantly on a majestic throne, crossing her legs clad in fishnet stockings. 

Her hair, heavily coated with dark mascara, was tied in twin tails. 

Beneath her dress, adorned with ribbons and a choker, were platform shoes.

At a glance, she appeared to be a smooth-skinned woman in her late teens or early twenties, but her surroundings were thick with demonic energy.

“Hm…”

Her long, glimmering black nails tapped against the armrest of the throne.

“Is it that some memories of a past life are being revived, even just a little?”

The demon god, Menhera, looked displeased as she watched the ceremony appointing Marfa as a saint.

First, Albus had appointed Diana, the Demon Lord, as a community manager. 

Now, he had appointed a succubus as a saint. Aside from the Apostle, Rebecca, all of his key subordinates were demons. 

It was as if he had an obsession with demons.

“Despite being born as a human child, he has an unusual affinity for demons. It must be that some memories of his past life as my daughter are returning.”

Menhera had been watching Albus ever since he created Rudera and caused its rapid growth. 

She saw him as a potential threat to her grand plan, which had been in the making for thousands of years.

After seeing him appoint the Demon Lord as a key subordinate, she had begun to wonder.

And when she saw his form as the most beautiful demon boy possible, ‘Jean,’ she became convinced that Albus was the reincarnation of her child.

***

Thousands of years ago, Menhera, a god born from dark energy, created the demon race by molding that energy, in hopes of creating a being that resembled herself. 

It was to alleviate the loneliness she felt while dwelling alone in the cosmic void for eternity. 

Under her care, the demons flourished in the Demon Realm.

“No… This isn’t right.”

But they were far from satisfying her. 

The gap was too vast, and Menhera began longing for a true companion.

This time, she resolved to create a proper partner. 

She gathered and condensed dark energy for ten thousand years, creating a new being inside a space untouched by anything else, who would be her companion.

At the end of that long period, her creation, her son and another demon god, ‘Noir,’ was about to be born—a true companion, with the stature of a demon god from birth.

“My beloved child…”

Hearing the pulsating sounds from within her womb, she was convinced that this child was her one and only, her understanding partner.

“Mother can’t wait any longer. I want to see you soon.”

She believed that only a grown child could become a true partner. However, Noir never saw birth.

As the cosmos circulated and dimensions intersected, a collision occurred between the Demon Realm, the world of demons, and the Intermediate World, the present continent. 

The dimensions collided and began to annihilate each other.

Menhera descended herself to prevent the annihilation of the dimensions and stabilize the status. 

As the owner and guardian of the Demon Realm, it was only natural, but she expended so much energy that the divine flow supplied to Noir became disrupted.

“No… My child, my child! Nooo!”

The demon god miscarried her child. 

The child she thought was the first and last of its kind in the universe was gone. 

Losing all will to act, the demon god sequestered herself in her domain for centuries.

The idea of creating a new child did not even occur to her. 

Noir was her one and only. 

No substitute could exist.

As she remained confined in her realm, her mind began to warp. 

One day, completely deranged, a thought surfaced in her head.

Noir had died just before birth. 

Generally, gods do not enter the cycle of reincarnation but simply perish. 

However, if he died before birth, he might have reincarnated.

“The soul of my child might have been reborn into another being…”

If she could only find that soul, she might be able to recover Noir!

It was an utterly absurd thought, but the demon god, with her broken mind and immense power, began a plan to retrieve her child. 

A grand plan to sacrifice both the Demon Realm and the continent to resurrect Noir.

Menhera had been meticulously progressing her plan over countless generations, refining demon lords and gathering dark energy.

And then Albus appeared before her.

A human child with no resemblance to Noir whatsoever. 

Born in the Duchy of the Empire, a child with no magical talent or affinity for magic. 

There was nothing to suggest that he was the reincarnation of Noir.

But the moment she saw ‘Jean,’ she concluded that Albus was the reincarnation of Noir. 

He was the spitting image of the Noir she had only seen in her dreams.

From that moment on, Menhera began to monitor everything about Albus.

She subtly assisted in the formation of the GM religion.

Her heart longed to reveal that he was her son, make him her heir, and hand over everything to him, but she had to wait for the right time. 

It seemed that he was slowly regaining memories of being a true demon god. 

Soon, he would realize his true identity.

When he awakens as [Noir], not as Albus the White, but as a demon god of blackness, I shall bestow everything upon my child.

Creating duel tournaments and broadcast systems to earn a massive amount of divine energy. 

Capturing the hearts of the continent’s people through [Miracles].

Seeing her son, born in a human body, steadily walking the path to becoming a god, Menhera felt a deep sense of pride.

Before she knew it, not only her demon lord but many other races were worshipping him as a god.

He was growing into a god all by himself.

But then, he suddenly made a succubus a saint.

Though the succubus was one of her creations, Menhera did not like that he had chosen such a sexually inclined race as a saint.

“To choose such a child over your own mother…”

It seemed she would have to properly educate her child once everything was revealed.

The demon god pouted.