Ch.189Last? – 2

“‘What do you mean ‘perhaps’?”

At that ambiguous choice of words, not only I but also the four others listening beside me showed clear signs of confusion. There was no way Leona wouldn’t recognize the goddess’s voice.

Moreover, who else besides the goddess could speak to Leona through the holy sword?

“I’m not sure myself. It definitely is the goddess’s voice… but sometimes it feels like it isn’t, and sometimes it feels like I’m hearing more voices than I should. I hope it’s just my imagination, but…”

Unfortunately, in most cases like this, it wasn’t just imagination. I looked down at the holy sword with complicated feelings. Just when I thought everything was finally over, what new problem had emerged?

‘Judging by her saying she hears more voices than she should…’

I could only hope it wasn’t for the reason I suspected.

“I understand. You said she’s looking for me? I’ll ask what’s going on.”

“Yes. Here’s the holy sword.”

I took the holy sword and concentrated. My consciousness began to sink somewhere, then resurfaced again. It felt different from the last time I had conversed while holding the holy sword.

Soon after, I heard tumultuous voices.

‘…Tumultuous?’

That shouldn’t happen under normal circumstances. Just as I sensed something strange and was about to speak, two completely different voices began bickering with each other.

—It’s cramped, sister. Won’t you move aside? This is my role.

—You’re just a voice, yet you complain about being cramped? Your jokes have improved.

“……”

A familiar voice that matched exactly what I had suspected.

It was the goddess and the demon goddess.

There was a reason Leona had used the word “perhaps.” For whatever reason, the demon goddess was also residing in the holy sword, which would naturally cause confusion. And apparently, she hadn’t properly revealed her identity either.

Though I had no idea why she was bickering with her sister in the holy sword instead of staying in her own domain.

—It’s a figure of speech telling you to back off quickly. Has your intelligence deteriorated so much that you can’t understand even this, sister?

—I know. I was joking too. And even if it is cramped, can’t you make that small concession to your only sister?

—I am also your only sister. Besides, this is a sword I created. If you had properly guarded the demon sword—Special human?!

A clattering sound echoed in my head.

I quietly held my forehead as they not only perfectly matched my expectations but even exceeded them. Were they acting this way because Aria was gone and they had nothing better to do, or had they always been like this?

Considering how they bickered even when only a fragment of their consciousness remained, it was most likely both.

—It is an honor to meet you again, special human.

—You did an excellent job eliminating that woman. I pay my respects.

It didn’t take long for the deities to return after disappearing into the distance while blaming each other. A much more solemn voice than before echoed in my head.

If I were only hearing this voice now, it would indeed befit a deity, but the water was already spilled. It was hard to feel any respect after clearly hearing what they had been doing just moments ago.

“You two seem to be enjoying yourselves now that the work is done.”

At my words, both deities fell silent, and the watching eyes around me collectively stirred. They must be wondering what was going on.

The silence continued for quite some time. Unable to bear it any longer, I continued.

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

—…Nothing at all.

—…Nothing at all.

“Of course that’s what you’d say. I understand completely that gods wouldn’t want humans to see them childishly arguing with each other. I completely understand.”

The stirring around me grew louder.

—If you already saw, why did you ask?!

—Exactly! That’s unfair!

“I was testing how you would respond when you obviously had been caught. Your behavior is quite befitting of your divine status. Truly impressive, both of you.”

The demon goddess and goddess fell silent simultaneously. They seemed to know their behavior was shameful. How could both deities have such personalities?

‘Perhaps separating emotions completely, like when creating a split personality, was the right choice after all.’

It seemed the goddess hadn’t separated her emotions for nothing. With the original having such a personality, keeping it would only be a hindrance.

“Anyway, Leona said the goddess was looking for me.”

Deciding to stop teasing them, I got to the point. If they were seeking me out first, it couldn’t be a trivial matter. Not knowing what might have happened, I needed to address their business first.

—That’s right, special human.

—It’s a very important matter. For both you and us.

“Your previous behavior makes it hard to believe it’s that important… but I’ll listen. What is it?”

The goddess and demon goddess, caught off guard, both flinched before carefully composing themselves and speaking.

—The world is still unstable.

—Many places remain unstabilized. If left alone, the problem will only grow.

“What do you mean by ‘many places remain unstabilized’? I clearly looked into the memories, found a solution, and restored everything. Time is flowing normally, isn’t it?”

—What? You said you restored it?

—What do you mean by that, special human?

“That’s what I’d like to ask. You need to explain properly what you mean by ‘unstable.'”

The voices of the goddess and demon goddess faded. I also hardened my expression. Something was seriously wrong.

The surrounding gazes began to show signs of anxiety. They might not hear the deities’ voices, but they could hear mine.

From their perspective, it must have seemed like I was joking around with the goddess and someone close to her, only for the atmosphere to suddenly turn serious. They must be wondering what was happening.

—Literally, forces destabilizing space-time are being observed throughout the world.

—So we thought you might not fully know how to stabilize the world, or perhaps you were intentionally neglecting it for some reason, which is why we had the hero seek you out… but.

At this point in the conversation, anyone who wasn’t a fool would notice we were talking about different things. I inwardly sighed. Something was definitely wrong.

“Couldn’t the two of you fix it? Your divine power should be returning by now.”

—We could have tried, but we thought it right to inform you first.

“Why?”

—Because the force destabilizing space-time matches the divine power you possess.

As I followed the goddess to what was supposedly the core coordinates, my thoughts were complicated. If the cause was truly my divine spear, then I was an entity that should no longer exist in this world.

After absorbing Aria’s memories, returning to my original world had always been possible. I stayed behind to clean up and prepare for any unforeseen situations.

Like now.

I had to ask Priscilla, Rosaria, Laura, and Elysier to wait a little longer. For those four, this was a place they wanted to leave immediately.

I did offer to send them back first if they wanted, but they flatly refused. They said it only had meaning if we all returned together, and besides, as long as I was here, they didn’t mind staying longer.

“Is this the place?”

—Yes.

—Yes.

Voices echoed in my head again. They weren’t coming from the holy sword. Perhaps they had transferred part of their consciousness here.

When I asked if it was okay to casually replicate consciousness like that, they said it was disposable and would last half a day at most, so I let it be.

“It certainly is.”

About half the sky was tinged with golden light, and the ground, vegetation, and flowing water all glowed with a pale gold color. Moreover, each golden light was imbued with divine power.

Not the goddess’s, but the much more powerful divine power that flowed from the divine spear. Before, they were similar, but after my awakening, the spear’s output changed dramatically, making them somewhat distinguishable.

—Look. It’s different from my sister’s. That’s why we thought you deliberately left it like this.

—The entire world’s instability originates from this place. We sought you out because we feared irreversible consequences if it were left unchecked any longer.

“I didn’t even know this existed.”

—But if not you, then what…

Exactly. I’m curious too about where this came from. I can’t completely rule out the possibility that it’s because of me.

“I’ll try to eliminate it first.”

When I summoned the divine spear in my left hand, the surrounding light began to shine intensely in response. The landscape was bathed in brilliant gold.

That was it.

‘…So absorption doesn’t work, at least.’

Seeing how it reacted to the spear, its origin was definitely here, but the fact that it couldn’t be absorbed was a mystery. I withdrew the spear. The golden light that had filled my vision faded again.

“Perhaps—”

I stopped mid-sentence as I was about to mention the first possibility that came to mind. I sensed divine power concentrated in one particular spot.

As expected, I saw the figure of a human there. It was the back view of a human woman. Since her entire body was made of light, no other information was discernible.

“Can you two see what I’m seeing right now?”

—Yes. How strange. We certainly didn’t detect this during our previous investigation…

—It didn’t exist until just now. Chronologically, we can only conclude it appeared after you created the divine spear.

A human figure made of my divine power that could deceive both my senses, even though they’re only half-recovered, and the senses of beings called gods.

‘This doesn’t feel good.’

I approached with the Dragon Fang Sword instead of the divine spear. As if hearing my footsteps, the human figure became more distinct. The once golden body began to change into various colors.

“……”

I froze as soon as I saw those emerging colors.

I had no choice but to.

A nun’s habit covering the entire body, back-length hair, a veil covering that hair, and gray hair peeking through the gaps where the veil couldn’t fully cover. Even though I could only see her back, I knew.

“La, ti… na?”

The woman in the nun’s form turned around. I barely managed to support my knees, which threatened to buckle when I saw that face with closed eyes.

It was indeed Latina’s face, which should have disappeared from my mind.

—…It seems this is not a place for us.

—We will withdraw now, special human.

The consciousnesses of the demon goddess and goddess, sensing the unusual atmosphere, disappeared, leaving just the two of us. Latina gave a slight smile.

“It’s been a while. You.”

My mind snapped to attention at the sweet voice that resembled Latina’s. Strength returned to my wavering body. My two legs stood firmly again. It was because I instinctively noticed something off.

Latina doesn’t speak like that. Not when we first met, and not after we became close. Though her manner of speech changed, she always used a stiff, businesslike tone.

“…Who are you, you bold bastard, to take that form?”

“Did you notice? I wasn’t planning to hide it anyway… but I didn’t expect you to catch on with just one sentence.”

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

“This is why I dislike perceptive people.”

Two eyes shining not gray, but blue, appeared.