Ch.1162Face-to-Face

After looking around for about a minute.

‘Nothing more to see.’

By that point, I’d seen everything there was to see. Befitting a personal chapel, it was luxurious but not particularly spacious.

Well then… time to start praying.

I lit my cigarette using the candle in front of the goddess statue, then exhaled a cloud of white smoke as I plopped down on the carpet.

…Shouldn’t I be kneeling in a reverent posture to pray?

Why would I kneel? We might have different addresses, but in terms of rank, we’re practically equals now, so I’m no longer in a position where I need to kneel.

I had intended to show at least some basic courtesy, but remembering how the church had made a fool of me at the entrance, that sentiment quickly vanished.

It was obvious that she must have been laughing heartily in heaven while watching me struggle to hide my embarrassment and pretend to be goddess-like.

So I cast aside all pretense of reverence toward the divine and addressed Astraea with the casual, frank attitude of a construction worker.

“*inhale*… *exhale*… Can you hear me? Let’s talk, Astraea.”

At that moment.

– Woooong!

The goddess statue before me began to emit light in response, and instantly the entire prayer room filled with a dazzling golden radiance.

Then, with a sensation like someone grabbing my hair and pulling upward, my vision suddenly went dark before exploding back into brightness like a flash grenade.

…What is this?

Reflexively shielding my eyes from the sudden flash, I groaned softly in bewilderment.

I had expected to hear her voice at most, but what was this situation? It felt as if only my consciousness had been pulled somewhere…

“So you’ve finally come, insolent brat.”

…Ah, so I was pulled somewhere.

“I’ve been counting the days, waiting for this moment.”

A woman’s voice, clear as silver bells yet filled with powerful authority.

Lowering my hand from my eyes, I saw before me a fierce-eyed female knight holding a longsword in one hand and a lance in the other.

Bright golden hair that flowed ethereally despite the absence of wind, dissolving into light at its ends.

Her golden armor was massive and sturdy enough to withstand a giant’s blow, yet simultaneously as ornate and beautiful as a work of art.

Around her sword and lance rotated rings of light composed of sacred runes, and behind her open-faced helmet floated a halo in the shape of a scale entangled with thorny vines.

“Pleased to meet you… I suppose I should say?”

Anyone with eyes would immediately recognize who she was.

I knew at first glance.

This golden-armored female knight, whose mere presence emitted such overwhelming power that it seemed to shake the very air around her.

“I didn’t expect such an enthusiastic welcome, Astraea.”

The Goddess of Order and Justice.

The Ascended Astraea stood before my eyes.

—-

A pure white castle with brilliant beams of light pouring down through the open ceiling.

One moment I had been sitting on the carpet, using cigarette smoke as incense while praying, and the next I found myself standing fully armed in the middle of a training ground paved with pristine white marble.

“How disrespectful.”

Opposite me stood a woman who was unmistakably Astraea, looking at me with a scornful smirk.

“Whether it’s your natural disposition or the influence of that wolf, either way, it’s not a pleasant sight.”

Disrespectful? That’s harsh.

“Did you expect me to bow my head? Sorry to disappoint.”

You openly made a fool of me at the church entrance less than an hour ago. Expecting a respectful response after that shows a complete lack of conscience, doesn’t it?

“I was brought here without knowing why, so it’s hard to feel any religious devotion. I’d appreciate some leniency.”

I shrugged my shoulders casually—perhaps a bit impudently—while twirling Durandal in my hand like a baton.

“Such insolence.”

Astraea clicked her tongue and took a step toward me. A strangely slow and heavy step.

“Do not display your arrogance before me.”

And then, in the next moment.

– Kuguuuung!

The beams of light pouring from the sky rippled and turned golden, transforming into a giant figure of light that looked down upon me.

Holding a massive golden sword above my head, as vast as a great mountain.

【 I҈̦͔̆̂́͜͞ have lived by destroying҈̨̯͍҇̋͛ such҉̡̤͖̗̳͂͒͞ arrogant ones҈̧̰̖̣҇̀̋. 】

The overwhelming pressure was on a completely different level from when she had a humanoid form. In the night sky devoid of all light, only the golden giant blazed like a beacon.

I instinctively understood. This light giant was her true form—the divine essence she had achieved after shedding her mortal body and ascending.

“Summoning your true form…? You’re going that far?”

I let out a nervous laugh and half-drew my sword.

…Doesn’t this goddess have an unusually low boiling point?

I hadn’t even cursed at her, just spoke casually, and she summoned her true form for that? This was excessive.

It was like pulling out a cannon, not even a gun, in response to a mischievous joke.

…Or perhaps this was her intention from the beginning?

She did say she had been counting the days waiting for this moment… Was she planning to cross swords with me from the start?

Is that why she had prepared her true form in advance?

That would make sense, but…

…Does this mean we really have to fight?

“Haah….”

As if being tormented by an evil god every night wasn’t enough, now I have to fight a goddess too? Life is truly harsh.

“…Fine. Let’s do this.”

I gripped Durandal’s hilt more firmly, spreading my legs slightly and bending my knees, ready to draw and swing my sword at any moment.

“First an evil god, now an ascended being. I’ve been curious which is stronger… Now I’ll find out.”

Just as I was putting on a brave front and trying to summon the divinity within me.

【 ……. 】

Was it my imagination, or did the light giant seem to heave a deep sigh? I didn’t actually hear anything, but somehow I could sense it.

– Sssssss.

Right after that, Astraea withdrew her true form and returned to her humanoid appearance, as if she had no real intention of fighting.

“What? We’re not fighting?”

“…It was merely a warning. What would be the point? A battle with no benefit, no meaning, and a predetermined outcome would only be wasteful.”

Astraea spoke with a sigh.

As if to say: Defeating you would be no challenge, but there’s nothing to gain, and we’d just be wasting energy.

“…You’re not wrong.”

Though I do think bringing out your true form just to issue a warning was a bit excessive.

—-

“So… where exactly did you bring me, and how?”

Once the atmosphere had calmed somewhat, I asked Astraea where we were.

It felt a bit odd to ask now, but until just moments ago, the situation hadn’t exactly been conducive to such questions.

“It feels different from spatial transfer, and my body feels strangely light.”

Curiously, the fatigue that had been weighing me down until just before praying had now completely vanished. I felt like I’d been reborn.

Perhaps because of this, despite being wide awake, everything had a dreamlike quality to it, as if I were hallucinating.

“Did you perhaps leave my body behind and only summon my soul? That would make sense…”

“Similar, but incorrect.”

Astraea shook her head.

“Your soul is both the support and the wedge that sustains that body. Removing it would be no different from handing your body over to Vanirgand.”

“Support and wedge…”

I roughly understood what she meant. The very existence of my soul acts as a chain binding Vanirgand.

Thanks to this, Hersella, who should have gone insane or been devoured by Vanirgand long ago, has managed to remain intact.

In other words, if my soul were to leave this body even for a moment, Vanirgand would immediately emerge and take over Hersella’s body.

“If it’s not a dream, spatial transfer, or soul transfer, then what? Is there another method?”

“This space doesn’t actually exist in reality. Would you understand if I explained it as a mental space?”

Mental space…?

“You mean like a landscape inside your mind?”

“Correct. The stigmata that was briefly reactivated when you entered my temple, combined with your prayer—disrespectful as it was, but maintaining minimal formality—those two connections allowed me to project my mental landscape to you.”

…So it’s like a video call where we’re sharing mental images instead of faces?

That’s why my body and soul remain where I was praying, but the scenery before my eyes instantly changed to somewhere completely different?

That’s quite fascinating.

“You gods certainly have many abilities.”

But if you could manifest like this even after ascending, why not occasionally show yourself to other priestesses or believers of your church?

If you had just shown your face and offered a few words of encouragement, they would have been beside themselves with joy.

“Anyone can do this with proper learning and practice. Those without divine attributes would go mad trying to maintain such a connection, so there’s little point in learning it.”

Ah, so this is a method I can handle because of who I am.

Apart from demigods thousands of years ago, I’m the only one in the current era who has awakened divinity and obtained divine attributes, as far as I know.

“Well… I suppose that can’t be helped then.”

I nodded in understanding.

Now that I was face-to-face with a god, I wondered if there was anything else worth asking about besides the Vanirgand problem.

What should I ask…?