chapter_0170

‘I wonder when we’ll arrive.’

I warily surveyed the space made of light. If I hadn’t been used to the golden light, I might have gone crazy in here, as everything I saw was gold.

She had insisted on bringing me to the heavenly realm despite saying there was no need for us to meet in person, and when I finally agreed, this was the result.

‘It’s not entirely unreasonable for her to be overly sensitive, considering she’s the polar opposite of the Demon God… But still, her words and actions feel very rushed.’

Even taking that into account, her behavior seemed extremely urgent.

She had avoided me like the plague, then suddenly wanted to meet, and now she was even bringing me to the heavenly realm.

‘I hope this isn’t a trap.’

Her attitude had changed so drastically that I was a little suspicious. I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of a trap.

For now, I decided to accept her offer, as she was a goddess on the human side, and there was no reason for her to trap me. However, I remained vigilant and did not let down my guard.

-Kiiing…

A sacred-sounding noise filled the air, and the golden light in front of me parted, creating a path wide enough for a person to walk through. I stepped forward, into the light.

The heavenly realm I arrived in looked like nothing more than an ordinary rural village. It was almost embarrassing to call it the heavenly realm.

It wouldn’t have been out of place for Aria and Leona to live here. The houses were made of plain wood, the roads were made of dirt, and the trees and grass grew wild right next to the houses.

“……You’re quite modest for a goddess.”

“There’s no need to decorate the place where a god dwells just because it’s supposed to be heavenly.”

Before I could finish my unintended muttering, a voice filled with divinity responded from right beside me. I turned to see a woman who was unmistakably a goddess.

Her golden hair fell in long locks almost to her ankles. Her chest was almost non-existent, but her overall figure was well-proportioned, so she didn’t look scrawny at all.

She wore a one-piece dress that covered her entire body. It was loose-fitting and as white as freshly fallen snow, with only her neck and ankles exposed.

Our eyes met, and the goddess smiled.

“Don’t you think so?”

“I didn’t expect to hear that from you directly, Goddess.”

“Where I am is the heavenly realm. The outward appearance has no meaning.”

I nodded and looked around. There were definitely not two of her.

“Why are you suddenly acting like this? I’m right here.”

“When we first spoke, you suddenly started talking like a different god. I was wondering if there was another goddess.”

It was a fairly common setting for gods to have different jurisdictions or even be twins.

“Ah, hahaha… Well, anyway, welcome to the heavenly realm, human. As I said on Earth, it’s time to answer your questions.”

The goddess awkwardly laughed and stepped closer.

“You must have a lot of questions. I’ll answer them one by one. Just follow me.”

“No. The questions come first.”

As I interrupted her, the goddess glanced sideways, the same way she had been doing since I arrived.

She had been glancing around ever since I got here, and now she wanted to take me somewhere else. It was a very suspicious situation.

“You’ve been avoiding me for so long. Surely you won’t make me wait even longer now?”

“Uh, yes… What questions do you have…?”

As I stood my ground, the goddess seemed a little flustered and hesitantly received my words. She had seemed a little off since I first saw her, and it only got worse as I stood firm.

It was suspicious. Very suspicious.

“I once killed a Succubus Queen. Not the current one, but the one who was a commander in the Demon King’s army. Her name was Astaroth, and I don’t know if you remember her, Goddess.”

“Yes… I remember.”

“She appeared with the Demon Sword and attacked me, and I killed her. But I felt a different kind of magic from her, something that didn’t quite belong to this world.”

I didn’t know if she could read my memories or thoughts, so I chose to speak indirectly. It was the best option to convey the core of what I wanted to say without revealing too much.

“That’s why I wanted to meet you, Goddess. I wanted to ask if you knew anything about the magic that felt different from the Demon Sword. I didn’t expect to hear the answer now, and certainly not after coming all the way to the heavenly realm.”

The goddess gave me an ambiguous smile.

No matter how I looked at it, she seemed suspicious. Either her basic personality was gentle, or she felt guilty for avoiding me all this time, but at least she didn’t seem to be planning anything against me right now.

“I understand your feelings, but I was also certain. This isn’t a conversation to have here, so please follow me.”

The goddess reached out to me with an unusually hurried pace. I instinctively dodged her hand, but her slender fingers caught the air where my hand had been.

She looked a little surprised, as if she hadn’t expected me to dodge.

“No. I need to hear it here.”

There was already a lack of trust, and her actions only added to it. It was even possible that this whole situation was a trap.

“……I’ll explain everything when we get there. This isn’t a conversation to have here.”

“I refuse. First, you need to explain why this isn’t a conversation to have here.”

“It’s not too late… Please follow me. I promise I’ll explain everything afterward. I swear I’ll tell you everything.”

“This situation raises another question. Why are you so desperate to take me there? Do you have a trap set up over there?”

“Absolutely not!”

The goddess, who had been fidgeting, let out a squeak. She then bit her lower lip and shifted her body slightly.

“……I’m a goddess.”

Her gem-like eyes glared at me.

“Human, you shouldn’t be so rude to an existence like me…! Just quietly follow me…! But why…!”

“Do you not know why I’m acting like this? If you just tell me why you’re so desperate to take me over there, I’ll quietly follow you. Why are you creating this situation by refusing to answer a simple question?”

I stood my ground and retorted. The goddess was now on the verge of tears.

“……Alright.”

Golden light emanated from her body—divine power. I reflexively drew Eternity.

“Then I’ll take you by force…”

.

.

.

“……”

I looked down at the goddess, who was sprawled on the ground in surprise. She had tried to take me by force with her divine power, but…

She was weak.

Incredibly weak.

The divine power she had unleashed was pure, befitting her status as a goddess, but the output was too low. She wouldn’t stand a chance against me, let alone Leona.

“Ple, please… It’s not too late… Follow me…”

The goddess, gasping for breath on the ground, still tried to take me somewhere. I warily observed her and looked around at the wooden houses and their surroundings.

What was over there that made her so desperate…?

“……?”

I paused, then turned my head and focused my attention again.

‘……Divine power?’

I hadn’t been mistaken. I could feel the same divine power coming from the direction I had turned to as I felt from the goddess.

I briefly checked on the goddess sprawled on the ground, then turned towards the direction of the divine power and took a step forward. If the divine power was the reason for her insistence, I needed to find out what was going on.

The space I was walking towards was completely empty, as if nothing existed. But I wasn’t wrong. The divine power was growing stronger and stronger.

Much stronger than what I had felt from the goddess.

After walking for a while, the scenery changed as soon as I took another step. A temple-like structure appeared right in front of me.

‘What is this?’

I took a step back in surprise, and the temple disappeared as if nothing had happened. I stood still for a moment, then took another step forward, and the temple-like structure reappeared.

I adjusted the position of my feet, paying attention to the heel of my right foot, which seemed to be the trigger point for the invisible force.

‘……Some kind of illusionary barrier?’

I waved my hand around the area, but there was nothing to touch. It didn’t react to magic or divine power either.

I alternated between glancing at the goddess, who was still sprawled on the ground behind me, and the temple-like structure in front of me, then made up my mind and stepped towards the temple. I had a strong intuition that this was somehow connected to the goddess.

The temple was entirely white, but it looked terribly dilapidated, as if it hadn’t been maintained for a long time. The columns were cracked, and some parts were even dark and discolored.

And from within, I could feel an overwhelmingly powerful divine power, much stronger than what I had felt from the goddess.

‘She must have been trying to hide this.’

Some of my questions were starting to be answered. The goddess had been trying to hide this temple, and the reason she had tried to take me in the opposite direction was probably to prevent me from sensing the divine power.

But there were still many unanswered questions. Why had she used such a simple and crude method to hide it? What was the purpose of this temple, and why was it now in such a dilapidated state? Why was it so important that it had to be kept hidden?

Most importantly, why was I feeling the same divine power from within as I felt from the goddess?

Full of curiosity, I approached the temple. When I was right in front of it, I kept my guard up and drew Eternity. After all, I didn’t know what was inside, and the goddess had just attacked me.

I reached for what appeared to be the entrance, and the door, which I thought must be over 10 meters tall, opened with surprising lightness. I used detection magic inside, but there was nothing to detect.

Slowly, very cautiously, I stepped inside, keeping my guard up and watching my surroundings.

“You don’t need to be so guarded, human.”

I flinched at the voice that came from within, and stopped in my tracks.

“……There is only one thing left in this ruin.”

It was the same voice as the goddess outside.