Ch.199Chapter 199. IF – If I Had Taken Asha’s Hand (1)

# Chapter 199. IF – If I Had Joined Hands with Asha (1)

# This story is a hypothetical “what if?” scenario, not the official storyline.

Slash!

Asha’s black energy bound Charon’s feet, and Lakye’s meteor sword cut off Charon’s neck.

Just when I thought it was all over after killing the evil god…

“Malak! I’ll give you eternal oblivion!”

Charon, with eyes wide open, fired something at me. It was a spell that would completely banish a god from the material plane.

Ah…

Even as I sighed, I could accept it rather calmly. It wasn’t entirely unexpected.

In that brief moment, I checked on Lakye and Asha. Asha’s face showed she hadn’t yet grasped what was happening, while Lakye had turned pale blue.

With Lakye still here, he should be able to stop Asha if she starts acting like an unbridled colt. I’ll trust Lakye.

Looking back, it was truly a difficult battle. Aside from fighting demons and Charon, what troubled me most was dealing with Asha and the Black Coral tribe.

There was only one reason I accepted those cannibals who had attacked the Dina Special Forces as allies—to supplement the currently lacking tribal federation’s fighting power.

They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I had intended to use these sea monsters as expendable resources to destroy the demons.

But things didn’t go as planned. Asha and the sea monsters thrived and grew even in the places I had thrown them to fight and die.

Moreover, the Paladins turned their backs on me. Both the Dina Special Forces and the MeleeSpy Attack Team refused to cooperate, saying they wouldn’t work with an organization that had joined hands with cannibalistic monsters.

Managing public sentiment among the tribal federation members was also difficult. They trembled whenever Asha and the sea monsters appeared.

In the end, we had to defeat the demons with just the tribal federation’s power. We didn’t lose because Lakye, Paya, Kanto, and Asha with her sea monsters had become as strong as the Paladins… but there were inevitably many sacrifices.

It was all the price of cooperating with monsters who had abandoned morality.

Well, that aside… we did win in the end. Though I’m not sure if we just won a battle or truly “saved” the world.

The energy Charon fired with his life was already right in front of me.

Yes. If one sacrifice ends it all, I’ll gladly do it. I closed my eyes, waiting for True Malak’s soul to leave.

[I’m sorry. I owe you a great debt]

At that moment, a voice echoed in my head.

[The world is in chaos, so I am still needed]

With those words, True Malak’s soul left the incarnated body.

I understood True Malak, so I silently accepted the “eternal oblivion.” I had only won the war but failed to stabilize the people.

So I’ll leave the reconstruction of the world to True Malak, and I’ll take a rest. I can watch over things as a ghost.

…Ghost sounds a bit ominous, so let’s think of it as becoming invisible.

Soon after, I was directly hit by the “eternal oblivion.” It didn’t hurt. How should I put it? It felt like my head was dizzy from suddenly taking a massive dose of sleeping pills.

True Malak’s incarnated body slowly dispersed into blue light. After a while, the body completely scattered, and I became a ghost floating in mid-air.

I could see Charon disappearing, having used his soul to cast “eternal oblivion.” More precisely, it was Charon’s soul.

“So that’s how such a powerful being descended—by putting a soul inside another soul, using a trick.”

He muttered with a humiliated expression.

“Surviving by using a vessel as bait. As expected, all you Roa are the same.”

I wanted to snap back that he had no right to say that after all his trolling, but it was impossible as I had become a ghost, not even a soul. Literally a wandering spirit.

“I may disappear here, but the end of mythology will surely come…!”

With those final words, Charon completely turned to dust and vanished. A wretched end befitting a villain.

I looked at Asha and Lakye who were by the evil god’s body.

“No, this can’t be.”

Lakye used the “God Summoning” blessing on himself. I wasn’t sure where he was trying to go, but it was clearly to find me after I was hit by eternal oblivion.

“My lord…?”

Asha just stared blankly at the place where True Malak’s incarnated body had disappeared.

What’s with this “my lord” nonsense? I never once acknowledged her as my bride. Is she acting like this because Lakye isn’t here right now? Whenever she mentioned “my lord,” Lakye would glare at her with murderous intent.

‘If you utter that disgusting word “my lord” from your foul mouth one more time, I’ll cut you into pieces like the fish you are.’

Lakye was truly terrifying then.

…I wonder what happened to True Malak now? Since I, his medium, disappeared, did he return to the spiritual realm? Or did he descend again using the divine status I had accumulated?

I wanted to find out immediately, but it was impossible. I was mentally exhausted.

Just a little, let me sleep just a little before checking. I let go of the consciousness I had been desperately holding onto.

Losing consciousness happened in an instant.

***

When I regained consciousness, quite a lot of time had passed.

The imperial capital, which had been our final battlefield, was left in ruins. All that remained were the pale corpses of worshippers.

I directed my ghostly body(?) toward Symphonia, where the tribal federation headquarters was located. I wanted to see Hanna too, but the tribal federation was the priority.

As a ghost unaffected by gravity, I could pass through various places.

The phrase ‘How did you fix it to the horizontal coordinate system?’ came to mind, but since it applied to me, I couldn’t even laugh. Well, let’s say it’s magic, not science, so it’s different.

Since I wasn’t recognized as a vessel being a ghost, there was no status window or community access. I had no choice but to find my way to Symphonia by memory, which meant wandering around.

I proceeded by recalling the memories of marching to the capital with the warriors. Heading straight south led to Symphonia.

The tribal federation I saw again was… thankfully, unchanged. People were peacefully plowing fields, which meant they hadn’t collapsed or fallen into internal strife.

Perhaps True Malak had descended again after all. I entered the lord’s chamber that had been converted into an altar.

“The crops are growing well. The harvest is very good.”

Rachel was reporting in front of the totem. Asha was visible, but Lakye, who always fought with Asha over the totem position, was nowhere to be seen.

Where could he have gone?

– Good. Report immediately if anything unusual happens.

Sure enough, True Malak had descended into the totem. Blue light flickered from it.

Our True Malak, you’re doing well. He seemed to have incorporated the information and routines I had left in “messages to myself.”

I stayed at the altar and observed True Malak’s daily life. Occasionally Paya, Kanto, Rachel, Grandpa Harry, and Luna would visit. But for some reason, Lakye was nowhere to be seen.

“Excuse me.”

Paya, who had come to the altar, glanced at the totem.

“Lord Malak.”

– Hmm?

“Are you… really Lord Malak?”

Paya must have sensed with her spiritual perception that True Malak and I were different. Still, she couldn’t definitively say “no” because it was subtle.

Before becoming a ghost, I was both True Malak and not True Malak. Our souls had been merged.

– I am.

“High Priestess Paya. What blasphemy is this? If my lord is not Lord Malak, then who…!”

– Enough.

True Malak stopped Asha and was silent for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts.

Creeeeak-!

Lakye opened the door and entered the altar.

“Chief Lakye. You haven’t shown your face since Lord Malak saved the world. What wind blows you here now?”

Ignoring Asha’s sneer, Lakye glared at the totem, at True Malak.

“Where is Lord Malak? I think you would know.”

His attitude was uninhibited, as if he already knew everything.

Is the “Lord Malak” Lakye is looking for me, “Sans,” rather than True Malak? Come to think of it, Lakye had said something before we started the final battle.

‘When this is all over, there’s something I want to ask Lord Malak.’

He definitely said that. I was anxious, thinking he was raising a death flag, but in retrospect, it seems like it was a hint.

Perhaps he had realized my identity to some extent.

– Chief Lakye. High Priestess Paya.

True Malak stopped Asha, who was about to get angry, and began speaking.

– The one you seek is my proxy. He…

A long explanation followed.

“T-That’s…!”

“Is there no way to call him back to earth?”

Paya sniffled, and Lakye asked.

– There is a way. But it’s nearly impossible.

True Malak said that by gathering artifacts imbued with divine status and performing a ritual, they might be able to summon me back.

– As you know, the earth has been severely damaged. I’m not sure if such artifacts still remain.

After saying that, True Malak subtly suggested:

– Chief Lakye. Your strength is needed to rebuild the world. Won’t you join in rebuilding the world while searching for artifacts?

“I am not your guardian.”

Lakye shook his head and turned his back.

“You are not my Lord Malak.”

With that, he left the altar.