Ch.251Side Story: Synchronization – 3

A brilliant golden light burst forth from the hand raised high. It was holy power. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but comment in disbelief.

“Is a demon god allowed to use holy power?”

“T-that’s not what’s important right now! You insolent fool!”

Her immediate fierce reaction suggested she was actually quite self-conscious about it.

The celestial goddess watched her sister with a bright smile, as if she had been waiting for this moment all along. The demon goddess’s cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. Sensing that teasing her further might cause her to collapse like Latina had, I changed the subject.

“So how do you plan to solve this?”

“When we exert our power, we can disperse the karma so it doesn’t accumulate in human souls. It would be impossible in the world we ruled, but on Earth, where mana concentration is extremely low and holy power is practically nonexistent, it’s entirely possible.”

“I had no idea you could do something like that.”

“We are gods. There’s nothing we can’t do.”

“You certainly don’t look the part.”

When I smiled and patted her head, the demon goddess began hopping up and down in protest.

“You disrespectful wretch! Don’t casually pat a god’s head!”

“Then I’ll do it to the goddess instead.”

“What?”

The celestial goddess, who had been quietly watching, flinched momentarily when I suddenly started patting her head, but she quickly relaxed into a broad smile and leaned into my touch. Her demeanor had changed significantly, no less than the demon goddess’s had.

Judging by the somewhat unhinged personality of her emotional avatar that I’d met when I visited the celestial realm, this seemed closer to her true nature. The childlike appearance she’d taken probably influenced it too.

“W-why can’t you stop patting heads?!”

“You two are going to work together anyway, right? Just think of the celestial goddess receiving your share too.”

The demon goddess, who had been hopping around in protest, suddenly went quiet. Latina, getting to her feet, remarked:

“‘If you stay still, you’ll only lose half’ – that’s the saying that applies here, demon goddess. Why do you needlessly create such problems?”

“The goddess is quite honest. Unlike someone else.”

Leona subtly joined in the teasing. I suspected it was her way of trying to get closer to them. The demon goddess, trembling with clenched fists, suddenly shouted:

“I-I don’t need such things either! Equinox, that’s enough! Have you no pride as a god?!”

“Neither do you, sister. We’ve already come too far to look for such things now, sister.”

“Ugh…!”

“Besides, I do need it. Gods and humans alike are motivated by praise. Please don’t drag me into your issues.”

“…”

The demon goddess, betrayed by the sister she had somewhat trusted, sank down in defeat. Latina clicked her tongue and lifted the deflated demon goddess onto her lap.

Her gentle palm began stroking the child-like figure who resembled her owner. The demon goddess sat quietly on her lap, accepting the caress. Kang Ra-hye watched the two goddesses with a warm smile.

“Goddess, is what you said really possible?”

“Yes. As you can see, despite being this kind of god, my sister doesn’t lie. However, there are side effects.”

“What kind of side effects?”

“The connection with our world will grow stronger. We could block it if we really tried, but… haven’t you ever wondered how we can use our powers in this world where no faith in us exists?”

“I never really thought about it. I could use my spirit weapon just fine here.”

“What?”

The celestial goddess’s eyes widened.

“Didn’t you both say your existences were bound to the spirit weapon? If I can use the spirit weapon on Earth, then naturally you goddesses who draw power from it should be able to manifest divine power.”

Her mouth fell open. She clearly hadn’t considered this possibility, and her lips moved wordlessly for a moment.

“T-that’s… was that it? But in a world with no trace of divinity, how could…”

“Since the spirit weapon originated from me, perhaps it operates independently. Don’t be too disheartened. So, what was your reasoning, goddess?”

“…I thought it was because the connection between our world and Earth had grown stronger. I also thought that was why the accumulated karma was only now beginning to devour souls. I should have realized that wasn’t the case with just a little thought.”

I suspected the real reason Earth had remained intact until now was simply because there hadn’t been anyone who had killed enough people for karma to consume their soul. Even someone as fragile as Karna only transformed into a murderous spirit much later.

‘…Wait. Something’s not right.’

Suddenly, I realized something was off.

Karma is fundamentally a concept that accumulates when a person kills another person. Killing magical beasts doesn’t apply, so the same should be true for monsters emerging from gates.

When the Sword Saint first saw me, his killing intent flared because of the humans I had killed in my previous world, not because of magical beasts. But the fact that murderous spirits were appearing on Earth meant…

My train of thought was interrupted by my smartphone ringing. It was Nika.

“Master, do you have a moment?”

The fact that she called me “Master” meant there was no one around her.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“That female hunter who transformed into what they’re calling a murderous spirit? The wanted criminal? I checked her identity in the database. She’s quite infamous. She’s annihilated about 10 parties so far, which means she’s killed at least 40 people on average.”

My ominous feeling was right. I sighed and asked:

“Did you find out why she wasn’t caught?”

“Her awakened ability is disguise. According to the hunter who regained consciousness, they were planning to tackle a gate together, and it seems she was trying to use the same trick again. It’s better that it ended this way. The severed arm can be regenerated with healing magic.”

A hunter with a disguise ability – given that even I couldn’t detect it, it must be more than simple disguise, probably closer to completely restructuring her skeleton and skin.

“I pretended not to know what was going on when she first woke up and questioned her. She said she was just walking with her party members when she suddenly found herself here. She doesn’t seem to remember anything from when she was a murderous spirit.”

“Did she ask to be released?”

“Of course. She had the nerve to ask what she’d done wrong to be imprisoned, but she quieted down when I showed her the CCTV footage and her real appearance from the database. Still, she insisted that was her true form until…”

Nika trailed off slightly and gave a light chuckle.

“I brought in a succubus to suck—ahem—drain her energy, and then she confessed everything.”

“I see. Surveillance… won’t be necessary then. Just keep it moderate. It would be troublesome if she completely lost her mind.”

“Don’t worry. Succubi are professionals at this sort of thing. Oh, Master, while retrieving the database, they also asked who subdued the murderous spirit. What should I tell them? You were caught on nearby CCTV, but they definitely won’t be able to identify you from that alone.”

“Tell them you don’t know.”

“I thought you’d say that. I’ll see you later, Master.”

The call ended. I had deliberately put it on speaker, so everyone present had heard the conversation. Kang Ra-hye let out a deep sigh.

“I was hoping there was some reason behind it, but it seems she was just trash who killed humans for fun.”

She had probably hoped for someone with a fragile mind who had tragically broken down, like Karna. The woman’s appearance as a magician had made her look too delicate to hurt even a fly.

“So, you two?”

The demon goddess, who had been stretching her sister’s cheeks while calling her a traitor, and the celestial goddess, who had been squirming to break free, both turned to look at me. The plump cheek snapped back into place with a soft sound.

“Could you explain in more detail about the method you mentioned earlier?”

The “Hunter Rampage Incident” in the heart of Seoul was capturing everyone’s attention.

From people making absurd claims about preparing for a zombie virus outbreak, to those spreading all sorts of far-fetched rumors based on the appearance of Eternal Guild’s guild master, there was no shortage of speculation.

Although Nika herself dismissed it as mere coincidence, what were the chances that one of the strongest S-rank hunters, who rarely appeared in public except for missions, would just happen to be there?

So people focused even more attention on this announcement, which was shocking in a different way.

—It was an equipment issue. The hunter in question was a wanted criminal who stole equipment from hunters she had killed, and the peculiarities inside the gate caused the problem. Experts are currently investigating the equipment.

—The identity of the person who subdued the hunter is also under investigation. The broken smartphones of people taking pictures? If it weren’t for that person, it would have been their heads that were broken, not their phones. Consider it payment for their lives.

—You say we’re hiding something? Look at your own actions first. We’ve told you everything there is to tell about this incident. I don’t know what more you want.

The person representing Eternal Guild’s guild master made only these statements amid the barrage of questions before leaving the press conference.

Despite the flood of reports pointing out numerous suspicious aspects, Eternal Guild didn’t bat an eye. Their official position remained that it was mental contamination caused by wearing a dead hunter’s equipment.

In fact, an unknown contaminant was discovered on the equipment. As soon as this fact was revealed, people’s attention immediately shifted in that direction.

Of course, only a select few knew that the contaminant was actually “demonic energy.”

“So the changes in the gates in the goddess’s world and the strengthening of Earth’s gates are both due to the increased synchronization rate between the two worlds?”

“That’s right. We’ve taken certain measures, so it won’t spread further, but… we were lucky. If we had been any later, serious situations could have unfolded.”

“Such as?”

“For instance, magical beasts with complete civilizations like Earth’s humans emerging from our world’s gates, or demon lords from our world appearing through Earth’s gates.”

“…”

It was certainly a serious matter. The demon goddess cleared her throat and puffed out her chest.

“See? If I hadn’t suggested going to Earth at this timing, what would have happened? It’s all thanks to me.”

“Wasn’t it the goddess who first mentioned wanting to visit Earth?”

“You’re disgraceful, sister.”

“Disgraceful…?!”

The demon goddess froze. She clearly hadn’t expected to hear such words from her sister.

“Now I understand why you chose the demon realm simply because it seemed cooler.”

“…I apologize for having such an embarrassing sister.”

The celestial goddess nuzzled against Leona’s chest. Leona embraced her with a wry smile, then asked with a concerned expression:

“Mira, are you really going to do this? Even for you, this is…”

“It’s fine. Go back first.”

“…Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

Leona, carrying the celestial goddess, returned to the island through a dimensional gate, with Latina following behind. With only the demon goddess, Nika, and myself remaining, I snapped my fingers in front of the frozen demon goddess’s face.

“So, what do we need to do now?”

“…Are you really going through with this, human?”

“Did you think I’d come all this way just to turn back? I’m ready.”

“But… forging a sword for a human is truly unprecedented…”

The demon goddess continued to hesitate. I grabbed both her cheeks and pulled them outward.

“Owww! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“How can a demon goddess hesitate to bestow a demonic sword? This is your chance to use demonic energy instead of holy power again.”