chapter_0192

“You said ‘probably’?”

The ambiguous choice of words confused not only me but also the four who were listening alongside me. Leona couldn’t have failed to recognize the Goddess’s voice.

Furthermore, who else besides the Goddess could speak to Leona through the Holy Sword?

“I don’t know. It’s definitely the Goddess’s voice, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, and it feels like there are more voices. I hope it’s just my imagination, but…”

Unfortunately, in most cases, it wasn’t just their imagination. I looked down at the Holy Sword with a heavy heart. I thought everything was over, but something else had popped up.

‘If more voices are being heard, then…’

I hoped it wasn’t the reason I was guessing.

“Okay, I understand. You said they were looking for me, right? Let me ask what’s going on.”

“Yeah. Here’s the Holy Sword.”

I took the Holy Sword and concentrated. My consciousness seemed to sink a little and then resurfaced. It felt different from when I had communicated through the sword before.

Soon, a commotion of voices filled my head.

-It’s crowded in here, Sister. Would you please move aside? This is my role.

-Even if it’s just voices, it’s not crowded. Your jokes are getting old.

“……”

The familiar voices I had guessed were exactly right.

The Goddess and the Demon God.

Leona had said ‘probably’ because the Demon God was also residing in the Holy Sword, causing confusion. Moreover, they hadn’t properly revealed their identities.

Why were they bickering in the sword instead of their own realm? I quietly held my head. Were they always like this, even before Aria separated them?

-Step aside, it’s cramped.

-Even if it’s just voices, it’s not cramped. Your jokes are getting old.

-I know. I was joking. And, even if it’s cramped, can’t you give way to your only sister?

-I, too, am your only sister. This is also my sword. If you had properly guarded the Demon Sword…

-Clang, clang, clang!

The sound of something falling echoed in my head. I rubbed my forehead. Not only had my guess been correct, but they had gone a step further. When even a single thought remained, they had bickered with each other.

-It is an honor to meet you again, Special Human.

-You have done an excellent job of eliminating that woman. I salute you.

It didn’t take long for the Gods to return after disappearing to a faraway place, bickering with each other. A much more dignified voice than before echoed in my head.

Now that their voices were heard, it was indeed fitting for their status as Gods. However, the damage had already been done. They had been bickering while I held the sword, so it was pointless to pretend otherwise.

“It seems you’re doing well now that the job is done. Both of you.”

At my words, the two Gods fell silent, and the onlookers, who had been watching silently, murmured in surprise. They must be wondering what was going on.

The silence lasted quite a while. Unable to bear it, I spoke up.

“What were you two doing that you didn’t even notice me holding the Holy Sword?”

-……It’s nothing.

-……It’s nothing.

“Of course. It’s a behavior befitting your status as Gods. I understand completely.”

The murmurs around me grew louder.

-Why are you asking now that you’ve seen it!

-You’re right! It’s unfair!

“I was testing to see how you would respond since you would have known I saw it. It’s a very fitting behavior for your status as Gods. Very impressive, both of you.”

The Demon God and the Goddess fell silent. They seemed to realize that their behavior was shameful. How could both Gods have such personalities?

‘Maybe it really was the right choice to completely separate emotions when I created the clone.’

It seemed the Goddess had separated her emotions for a reason. If the original had such a personality, it would only cause trouble.

“Anyway, Leona said the Goddess was looking for me. What’s the matter?”

I decided to cut the teasing short and get to the point. It must be something important if they were looking for me. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

-That’s right. Special Human.

-It’s a very important matter. It’s important to you and to us.

“It doesn’t feel very important to me since you were just bickering, but I’ll listen anyway. What is it?”

The Goddess and the Demon God fell silent. They seemed to realize that their behavior was inappropriate.

-The world is still unstable.

-There are many places that are not stable. If left unchecked, it will only get worse.

“What do you mean, unstable? I’ve looked into your memories and found a way to fix everything. Time is flowing normally, isn’t it?”

-Huh? Did you say you fixed it?

-What do you mean by that, Special Human?

“Then please explain what you mean by unstable. Your explanation doesn’t make sense to me.”

The Goddess and the Demon God fell silent. They seemed to realize that their behavior was inappropriate. The onlookers’ gazes turned anxious, even though they couldn’t hear the Gods’ voices.

As I listened to the conversation between the Goddess and the nearby someone, the atmosphere suddenly turned serious. I wondered what was going on.

-Literally, a force that destabilizes space-time is being observed in various places around the world.

-So we thought that either you didn’t know the perfect way to stabilize the world, or you had some intention and deliberately left it alone… But.

The conversation had reached this point, and it was obvious that they were talking about different things. I sighed inwardly. Something was definitely wrong.

“Couldn’t you two fix it? Your divinity is slowly returning, isn’t it?”

-We tried, but we thought it was right to inform you first.

“Why?”

-Because the force that is destabilizing space-time matches the divinity you possess.

.

.

.

As I headed towards the coordinates that were supposedly the most crucial, following the Goddess, my thoughts were complicated. If the cause was truly the Holy Spear, then I shouldn’t have stayed in this world any longer.

After absorbing Aria’s memories, I could have returned to the original world at any time. I stayed here to clean up the mess and prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Like now.

I had to ask Priscilla, Rosaria, Laura, and Elciles to wait a little longer. For them, this place would be the last place they wanted to be.

I had offered to send them back first, but they flatly refused. They wanted to return together, and besides, they said it didn’t matter how long I stayed here.

“Is this the place?”

-Yes.

-Yes.

The voices echoed in my head again. It wasn’t coming from the Holy Sword; they had implanted a part of their thoughts here.

When I asked if they could just clone their thoughts like that, they said it was disposable and would only last half a day at most, so I let it go.

“It’s definitely that.”

Half of the sky was bathed in golden light, and the land, as well as the plants and flowing water, shone with a faint golden hue. Moreover, each ray of light was imbued with divinity.

Not the divinity of the Goddess, but the much stronger divinity flowing from the Holy Spear. After my awakening, the output of the Holy Spear had changed significantly, making it easier to distinguish.

-Behold. It’s different from my sister’s, isn’t it? That’s why we thought you were deliberately leaving it like this.

-The instability of the entire world is also emanating from this place. If we leave it any longer, something irreversible might happen, so we decided to find you.

“I didn’t even know this existed.”

-But if it’s not you, then what…

I wondered too. Where did this come from? I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that it was somehow because of me.

“I’ll try to get rid of it anyway.”

I summoned the Holy Spear with my left hand, and the surrounding light responded by shining brightly. The scenery was dazzlingly illuminated with golden light.

That was it.

‘……I guess absorption doesn’t work.’

The light reacted to the Holy Spear, so the source was definitely here, but for some reason, absorption didn’t work. I sheathed the spear. The golden light that had filled my vision faded away.

“Probably…”

I was about to mention the first possibility that came to mind but stopped short. I could feel an exceptionally high concentration of divinity in one place.

As I expected, a human figure appeared in that place. It was the back of a woman, her entire body made of light, revealing no other information.

“Is that… Latina?”

The woman in the nun’s habit turned around. As soon as I saw her face, my knees buckled, and I barely managed to keep myself standing. It was Latina’s face, the one that should have disappeared from my mind.

-……It seems we are not welcome here.

-We shall take our leave, Special Human.

As the thoughts of the Demon God and the Goddess, who had sensed the strange atmosphere, disappeared, Latina smiled sweetly.

“It’s been a while. You.”

Hearing the sweet voice, so similar to Latina’s, I snapped out of my daze. My body straightened, and my legs, which had been wobbly, regained their strength. Instinctively, I sensed something amiss.

Latina didn’t speak like that. From the moment we first met to when we became close, she always spoke in a stiff and businesslike tone.

“……Who are you, daring to take on her appearance?”

“Did you notice? I didn’t intend to hide it, but… I didn’t think you would notice with just a single word.”

The woman with Latina’s appearance slowly opened her eyes.

“That’s why I said I don’t like smart people.”

The eyes that shone were not gray but blue.